A motorist who saved the life of a man by administering CPR has shared his story, and hopes it will encourage more people to learn first aid skills. You can watch the incident unfold below:
Security guard Alejandro Varela García - Alex VG on YouTube - was riding home through London on his motorbike after a 12 hour shift when he spotted a crowd gathered around an injured man at the side of the road.
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After noticing the ambulance hadn't arrived, the 27-year-old hopped off his bike and started to help out.
The stricken man had fallen over and smashed his face against the roadside fence and was bleeding profusely. He'd also badly bitten his tongue, and was in serious trouble.
Recognising the danger, Alejandro placed him into the recovery position in case of internal wounds.
However, the extent of the man's injuries made him lose consciousness and stop breathing, which required Alejandro to take further action.
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After grabbing a mouth guard he carries with him at all times, he performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on the man - even though the incident took place in the middle of a pandemic - and even kept going while the paramedics readied their tools upon arrival.
The ambulance staff then told him he'd saved the man's life.
Speaking about the incident in April of this year, Alejandro told LADbible: "There were a few people around the casualty and a very busy bus stop on the other side of the road full of people more worried into recording the scene than approaching to give help.
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"There was just one lady that was a bit scared by the situation, but had knowledge about first aid.
"[The victim] was making his way back home when he tripped on something on the floor and hit his face against the fence.
"It caused him to bleed from a wound on the head, and that's why he was so dizzy.
"As soon as I saw the wound, I placed him in the recovery position, as there could have been internal damage.
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"Also, he'd bitten his tongue really hard, so all the blood was getting inside his mouth. As I placed him in the recovery position some blood from the mouth was coming out, and he was very disoriented.
"We were trying to gain more information from him by asking questions, but slowly he was losing his energy, we couldn't hear him talking anymore.
"He was falling asleep, and then the worst came - he was not moving at all, stopped breathing, not answering at all.
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"I noticed that he'd stopped breading and placed him in a different position to start giving him the CPR.
"Nobody was willing to do the mouth to mouth as many fluids were coming out his mouth.
"Luckily, I always carry a face shield that helps to deliver the mouth-to-mouth manoeuvre without the need of having skin contact."
He continued: "At this point I had to remain doing the CPR until the ambulance arrived after 15 to 20 minutes.
"When they arrived, they asked me to keep on going until they had all their tools ready, then they took over.
"They said that without me the guy would have died, and that I kept him alive and did a really good job."
He added: "A friend of mine who is a paramedic did a bit of a research, and she told me the guy survived and went back to his family."
Alejandro claims the whole ordeal felt 'normal' to him, and he managed to keep his cool thanks to his experience as a lifeguard, as well as maintaining his first aid certification since he was 17 years old.
He concluded: "I just feel like it is my responsibility to help. I am very happy I was there at the right time and at the right moment."
Featured Image Credit: Alejandro Varela GarciaTopics: UK News, Inspirational, Health