Knowing CPR can save lives

Participants practice cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) during a drill organized by Mexican members of the Red Cross at the Revolution Monument in Mexico City, Mexico May 7, 2017. REUTERS/Henry Romero

RECENTLY, I saw a video of a badminton player collapsing during a match with his friends. From the video, which was sent to me via Whatsapp, I saw that he died on the spot. Viewing the video was not pleasant but what shocked me more was not the man’s death but the way his friends and the other players around him just stood by as he lay on the floor fighting for his life.

Some tried to prop him up, not realising that their dying friend needed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to keep him alive.