TN nurse goes beyond call of duty, gives back life to accident victim
Gokul.Rajendran@timesgroup.com
Mannargudi:05.12.2021
A 22-year-old college student who fell unconscious on the road after an accident got his life back, thanks to a cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) done by a nurse on the spot in Mannargudi on Friday. The video has gone viral.
M Vanaja, 39, of government headquarters hospital at Mannargudi was travelling in a car with her family from Madhukkur to Mannargudi on her weekly off when she saw the victim lying head down on the road near Lekkanampettai on Madhukkur road. Vasanth, a polytechnic student of Karuvakurichi who was riding a bike, had rammed into a herd of goats, skidded and fallen down.
Vanaja got off the car, cleared through the crowd which was looking at the man, and without any hesitation performed CPR on the youth. “He showed signs of life after 30 seconds of pressing. Usually, we require oxygen facility while applying CPR. In this case, I was ready to give him oral breathing but the youth himself breathed,” she told TOI. She said she continued the process for two more minutes. “Soon, he caught my hand due to the discomfort of pressing and opened his eyes,” Vanaja said. A 108 ambulance vehicle reached the spot and in the next few minutes Vasanth walked to it with Vanaja holding his hand. He was admitted to Thanjavur medical college hospital.
GOOD SAMARITAN: The video of M Vanaja performing CPR on Vasanth has gone viral
Social service outfit urges TN govt to regularise Vanaja’s job
As he hit his face and the forehead on the road, he became unconscious due to the shock. So we referred him for medical examination,” Vanaja said.
As the photographs and video of Vanaja saving the youth in the golden hour went viral, netizens overwhelmed her with wishes. A nursing diploma holder, she has been a contractual employee for the past one year and had recently undergone training in Tamil Nadu Accident and Emergency care initiative (TAEI) in Trichy.
“The youth is safe now because of Vanaja’s timely action. The medical examination showed he has no life threatening injuries,” said Dr N Vijayakumar, chief medical officer of the hospital where Vanaja works.
Meanwhile, a social service organisation called ‘Nesakaram’ of Mannargudi bestowed Vanaja with the title “Nightingale of Mannargudi” at the hospital on Saturday. The outfit appealed to the state government to regularise her job.
