Saudi Arabia man awarded Heartsaver Hero Award for saving child with CPR
Salem Al-Shaibani, an educator and media consultant from Taif, Saudi Arabia, was recently given a Heartsaver Hero Award by the American Heart Association in recognition of his heroic and to save a life in a cardiac emergency.
In March, which is also Heartsaver Month in the Middle East and North Africa Region, Salem was shopping at a mall in Saudi Arabia with his family when he passed by a CPR training booth run by medical students with the MDD Voluntary Team. The students encouraged him to stop at the booth, but he politely declined and kept walking. A while later, he decided to go back to the booth and see what it was about. The medical students taught him the steps to hands only CPR and gave him information on the importance quick bystander intervention. Salem even asked them about CPR for a child or baby since he has children of his own, and was taught the modifications.
He never imagined that soon he would be putting his new skills to the test.
爻兀丨賰賷 賱賰賲 禺賱丕賱 賴匕丕 丕賱孬乇賷丿 毓賳 賲賵賯賮 毓馗賷賲 丨丿孬 賱賷 賯亘賱 毓丿丞 兀賷丕賲 賵賯丿 賯乇乇鬲 毓丿賲 丕賱賰鬲丕亘賴 毓賳賴 丨鬲賶 鬲鬲囟丨 丕賱乇丐賷丞 賵賷賰鬲賲賱 丕賱賲卮賴丿.
— 爻丕賱賲 丕賱卮賷亘丕賳賷 (@sa9191)
丕賱賯氐丞 亘丿兀鬲 鬲丨丿賷丿賸丕 賯亘賱 佟贍 兀賷丕賲 毓賳丿賲丕 賰賳鬲 賮賷 夭賷丕乇丞 賱賲賰丞 丕賱賲賰乇賲丞 賵兀孬賳丕亍 鬲噩賵賱賷 賲乇乇鬲 亘賲噩賲賵毓丞 賲賳 丕賱卮亘丕賳 賵丕賱卮丕亘丕鬲 丕賱爻毓賵丿賷丕鬲 賷賯丿賲賵賳 鬲毓乇賷賮 賱賲丕賷爻賲賶 CPR
About a week later, Salem was at a park in Taif when he heard loud screams. He went towards them and found a crowd surrounding an unconscious one-and-a-half-year-old child. The child had drowned in the nearby pool, wasn’t breathing and was turning blue. Salem immediately remembered what he learned just the week before and jumped into action. He started performing CPR on the child and after a few minutes of continuous compressions, he coughed up water and started breathing again.
The child, named Hattan Abed Al-Qurashi, was taken to the hospital and later discharged with a clean bill of health. Salem even got to visit Hattan in the hospital while he was recovering.
Salem wants to inspire everyone to learn CPR so they, too, could save a life.
Hattan was given a Heartsaver Survivor Award and the MDD Voluntary Team, in partnership with King Saud University Clinical Skills and Simulation Center, was recognized with an Appreciation Certificate.
