2 SIT students step up to help woman found unconscious at Ghim Moh hawker centre

SINGAPORE – Chua Yuen Keong and Nikhil Tarun Sanghavi were having lunch at Ghim Moh Road Market and Food Centre on Monday (Aug 7) afternoon when they heard a commotion nearby.

Chua, 25, turned to the commotion, only to see a man trying to help a woman who was slumped over in her seat.

He then nudged Nikhil, 24, and instinctively, the two second-year Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) physiotherapy students jumped into action.

Nikhil, who was a medic during national service, immediately checked the unconscious woman's airway, breathing and pulse.

"I wanted to make sure that her airway was clear and she was breathing normally," he said, adding that he was glad that Chua was there as his second pair of eyes.

"I was a little nervous as such a scenario does not happen often, so I was also going through the steps that I've learnt in my head on what I was supposed to do."

As the duo and another man tried to keep her from falling off the chair, they also tried to wake her up by shaking her and continuously calling "auntie, auntie".

The woman regained consciousness about five minutes later.

Chua then took over and tried to assess if she had a stroke through what he learnt as part of his physiotherapy course.

"I kept communicating with her to check on her medical history, so I could pass the information to the paramedics when they arrived, and, at the same time, I checked if she had any facial drooping, arm weakness or speech difficulties as she spoke," he said, adding that it was the first time he had to apply his knowledge in a real-life situation.

"I was a little nervous during the whole process, but I knew Nikhil had the skills of a paramedic, so I tried to keep calm and did what I had to do."

The Straits Times was alerted to this incident by a reader who wrote in to compliment the two men on Monday.

The reader, who signed off as Chee Shen, said: "When the elderly lady gained consciousness, they convinced her to wait for the ambulance and medics to arrive and assisted her throughout.

"It is heartening to see the younger generation extending a helping hand to the elderly amid our ageing society."

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said they received a call for assistance at Block 20 Ghim Moh Road at 1.25pm.

"A person was assessed by an SCDF paramedic and the person declined to be taken to the hospital," it added.

Nikhil said the trust he and Chua had in each other while dealing with the situation was down to their close friendship.

He added: "Yuen Keong was the first friend I've made at SIT during orientation. We had lunch together and we've hit it off since then.

"Our close bond allowed us to understand what we were good at. For example, I'm good at assessing the situation, while Yuen Keong is great at deciding on the next course of action and communicating with the different parties at stake.

"This allowed us to work efficiently together and leaves little to no stones unturned."

When asked to describe their friendship in a sentence, both unanimously agreed that they can count each other to make school a little less stressful.

"Nikhil is a friend I can count on to help me get through stressful periods in school," said Mr Chua.

Nikhil said: "School is less stressful when he's stressing out with me. I'm really lucky to have found a really good friend on my first day of school."

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.

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