A bus driver named Derek Bailey of the Edmonton Transit service stopped his bus to help a freezing man in a bus shelter.
Saving a life
It was the first day that Bailey was driving Route 151 from Castle Downs to King Edward Park. When he reached the bus stop in the area of Lauderdale around 9 on a Sunday morning, he saw a man drooping over on the bus bench between two shopping bags. The man did not look healthy. According to Bailey, citizens of Edmonton are one city and it is their responsibility to provide help where and whenever possible. He tried to convince the man to get in the bus and it was determined he was not well. The man looked like he was severely frozen. Bailey, 36 years old was formerly an emergency medical responder.
The freezing man could not make a complete sentence because he was severely shivering. He has difficulty communicating. He could not even squeeze the hand of Bailey, to test his grip strength. At this point Bailey was already scared. He immediately provided first aid on the man. Bailey could hardly feel the pulse on both wrists. He checked the vital signs of the man and determined he needs medical help immediately. With his condition the man still insisted on going to Boyle Street Community Services downtown. Bailey convinced the man to wait for the paramedics. The paramedics continued with the first aid treatment and immediately brought him immediately to the hospital for further treatment.
Bailey recalled that his training on first-aid turns out to be useful during his work as a bus driver whether to provide first aid to someone who walks into the bus with an injury and people with feelings that they are having a heart attack. Bailey also carries with him a pair of Latex gloves, just in case he needs to provide help. My friends ask me what it feels to drive a bus. According to Bailey when he is driving a bus, he feels like being in an ambulance again. We as transit operators, we see a lot of what is happening in a city on a day-to-day basis. He was happy to wake up in the morning and read about his experience in the news and was relieved that the man he provided first aid is now stable and recovering in the hospital.
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LEARN MORE
Learn how to help by enrolling in a first aid course and for more information, check out these sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_aid