Hello.: June 2015

Land of Fire & Ice

17:17
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The Little Boy & his Grandmother

Hello.

These days, I'm really busy with medical school. Exams, classes and such. It took so much of my time and I'm pretty sure that I'm gonna be a zombie very soon. Countless sleepless nights, lots and lots of coffee, thick books to read by the end of each day, the learning process will never stop. But enough about my whining, I got time to do some blogging now hehe.

Last January, when I was in my winter break, I've travelled to the UK and France to meet up with a friend that furthering her Master studies at University of Kent, Canterbury. Being from the same motherland, it was a good opportunity to do some catch-up session. I have been away from Malaysia for almost six years now, I deserve some familiar faces to talk to.

On January 25, I arrived at Heathrow Airport in the afternoon. My class ended at 11 am on the same day and my flight was scheduled to depart at 2 pm. I was completely devastated on that day because I didn't have much time to prepared. I didn't even have enough time to take a shower *sigh*

From Heathrow, I took the subway to St Pancras to bought ticket to Canterbury West. The journey itself cost me almost 40 pound. But before I arrived in Canterbury, I had an exciting yet heart-pounding experience in the subway when I was on my way to St Pancras. A little boy boarded the subway with his grandma and they sat in front of me. The coach wasn't full that evening and people were doing their own business and I did mine : reading.

After a few minutes, I noticed that the old lady had started to panic when his grandson was slightly shaking and he vigorously shaking by sudden until he dropped from the seat. This event attracted the attentions of all passengers and the old lady has started to yell at this point. She yelled for somebody to help but unfortunately, no one came forward because there was no one with medical knowledge, I guessed.

I took some deep breaths before I came forward and told the old lady that I'm a medical student and I will try to help in any way that I can. She looked at me with full of doubt but I guess she was desperate enough when her grandson continuing experiencing seizure. At that moment, the passengers were surrounding us. A few people even encouraging me but I saw more doubts clouding in their minds. Without further ado, I made the boy lay on his back and put my jacket under his head. I loosen his shirt and turn him on his side. I have to made the boy comfortable as possible. I didn't hold the boy down hard and I paid attention to the length of the seizure. Luckily, the boy only has small seizure and it didn't last very long.

After the seizure, I placed the boy on his left side. Keep in mind that there is a small chance of post-seizure vomiting before the person is fully alert. Therefore, the person's head should be turned so that any vomit will drain out of the mouth without being inhaled. He was fully alert after that. The boy looked at me in the eyes and gave me a weak smile. I stayed with him until the coach stopped at another station and he was brought out by some personnel to get a proper medical help. The old lady hugged me in tears, saying that thank you wasn't enough. The event wasn't long, it lasted for a good few minutes but everything just happened so fast. Honestly, I didn't do much, I just help the boy with a little knowledge that I learnt in medical school.

There are types of seizure - such as generalized absence seizures or complex partial seizures which involve relatively brief episodes of unresponsiveness. If you ever find yourself caught in these situation, there are ways to help the person in need.

1. Stay calm

2. Make the person lay on his/her back

3. Put anything under his/her head

4. Loosen the tight clothes

5. Turn the person on his/her side & make him/her set

6. Prevent any injury

7. Pay attention to the length of the seizure

8. Make the person comfortable as possible & keep onlookers away

9. Do not hold the person down hard. (If a person having a seizure thrashes around, there is no need to restrain them)

10. Do not put anything in their mouth. ( A person having seizure is incapable of swallowing their tongue)

11. Do not give the person water, pills or food until he/she is fully alert

12. If the seizure continues for longer that 5-6 minutes, please call for emergency

13. After the seizure, the person should be placed on his/her left side. Keep in mind that there is a small chance of post-seizure vomiting before the person is fully alert. Therefore, the person's head should be turned so that any vomit will drain out of the mouth without being inhaled.

14. Stay with the person until he/she recovers.

For once in five years (med school), I was grateful for the lessons that I learnt in the hospital and classes or even when we had mock exams (we did the course on our classmates). I was grateful because I can at least help a person before he get a proper medical help. I was grateful because I was confident enough to offer my help even I'm not fully qualified to help (I am still a medical student). I was grateful because the old lady had put her faith in me and I exceeded her expectations to help her grandson.

All in all, it was a great experience for me. I do pray for the boy to be in a great health now.