A Winnipeg man rushed to help an indigenous man having a heart attack in a downtown sidewalk during rush hour traffic. There is roughly a chance a bystander will attempt to provide first aid or CPR to save a life before paramedics shows up. Because the victim is an aboriginal man lying on the street, people from Winnipeg have become less affected to their own racism. Other people just passed by and did not offer to help.
Timely intervention with CPR
The Winnipeg man named Jacks was driving home from work about 5 p.m. when he saw a man lying on the sidewalk and a woman kneeling beside him. It was raining that time and traffic was moving very slowly. Jacks stopped his car, got out and immediately checked on the man. He asked them if everything was OK, but he can see it that it was not ok. The indigenous man was on the ground shaking his head and hit a concrete. The victim about in his 40’s was clutching his chest and his arms were shaking and he was saying “my heart.” Another man nearby offered to help by calling an ambulance. Jack immediately provided CPR on the indigenous man.
The woman who is the companion of the indigenous man told Jacks that he had a heart attack the day before and still wearing a hospital bracelet. The man starts losing consciousness and Jacks thought the man might die. A bystander came over and covered the indigenous man with a jacket to prevent him from getting cold. But nobody in the slow moving traffic offered any help on the small group of people in the sidewalk.
According to Jacks he felt helpless and frustrated, just sitting there trying to keep a man alive and help is needed. Eventually the paramedics arrived after 10 minutes and helped with the situation.
According to the spokesperson of the city, the man was taken to the hospital and in stable condition.
Despite the obvious willingness of some people in Winnipeg to help strangers, the Fire Paramedic Service of Winnipeg still advices the people to call emergency numbers if they witness a person having a heart attack. Operators can provide instructions on how to provide CPR on the phone.
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LEARN MORE
Learn how to help by enrolling in a CPR training course and for more information, check out these sources:
https://www.wikihow.com/Do-Basic-First-Aid
https://www.healthline.com/health/first-aid/cpr
https://www.webmd.com/first-aid/cardiopulmonary-resuscitation-cpr-treatment