Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Where were you when he needed you??!!!

It was quite depressing to read that young 17 years old triathele Thaddeus Cheong collapsed and died after crossing the finishing line. What was even shocking that NO paramedics were present when he collapsed. Pardon my ignorance, but even in most schools' cross country or marathons, there is always a first-aid team standby just in case something happened to somebody. So, why is this basic requisite of having a paramedic team NOT available in the first place? The young man could have been saved by the milliseconds if the medic team was just around the corner.

And what bothers me most is this statement made by TAS. Quoted in the article, 'The Triathlon Association of Singapore (TAS) said although there were no medical personnel on site, the coaches present were all trained in first-aid.'

So, did the coaches not render first aid to the young man when they saw him collapsed or they were not available at the scene at the point of time when he collapsed? Such tragedy should not be happening in the first place. Someone's life could have been saved if precautions were carefully taken and executed in such events.

The Cheong family has lost a son and Singapore has lost a potential triathelete.

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