The Old Gods and the New were looking out for this Argentine man — he would have laid in pain for an excruciatingly long time if not for Cai Yinzhou, an alert passerby who happened to be at the right place at the right time.
Recounting the incident on his Facebook page, Yinzhou had been walking back home alone from a friend's engagement party nearby when he spotted the heavyset tattooed man lying by the side of the pavement along Nicoll Highway in the wee hours of the morning today at 2am.
Speaking to Coconuts Singapore, he mentioned that he was initially hesitant about approaching the man, as he thought that the Caucasian man was drunk. He noted something off about the scene: the man was drenched in sweat and had even lost control of his bladder. He also displayed involuntary eye and head movements — one of the symptoms of stroke. "I tried talking to him but he was not able to reply properly, and when he did, he was speaking in broken English," Yinzhou said, who presumed that he was a tourist.
Placing him in recovery position to prevent choking, Yinzhou confirmed that the man was indeed undergoing a relapse. In broken whispers the Argentine man by the name of Lucas stated that he had a history of the ailment, and the recurrent stroke had completely paralysed the left side of this body.
As they waited for the ambulance to arrive, Yinzhou kept talking to Lucas to make sure he stayed awake throughout. When help came, he assisted the paramedics in carrying the man into the ambulance, while making sure the man's belongings were stowed safely and his identification was at the ready."He maintained eye contact with me throughout, lifting his hand gingerly as he was in the ambulance as a sign of thanks," Yinzhou wrote on Facebook. "I am reminded that he could've been left there for a long period of time had I not passed by at that moment." He carried on his journey after the ambulance drove off.
Really, Lucas couldn't have been luckier to have Yinzhou as his saviour. Many would know that the 25-year-old is an avid humanitarian and founder of numerous social causes, including the Backalley Barbers initiative, where he and fellow volunteers give free haircuts to migrant workers.
His commitment to humanitarianism has also led him to form Geylang Adventures, a platform for social initiatives to help migrant workers in Geylang, as well as being part of the Singapore Nepal Relief Community.
According to an interview with SG, the dude even quit his job for a while and went to Australia to work as a shed builder for three months — just to get a first-hand experience of what it's like to be a migrant worker.
Adding to his already long list of altruistic achievements, he can now include saving a man's life in his résumé. Amazing.
Photos: Cai Yinzhou Facebook page; Geylang Adventures Facebook page
The Old Gods and the New were looking out for this Argentine man — he would have laid in pain for an excruciatingly long time if not for Cai Yinzhou, an alert passerby who happened to be at the right place at the right time.
Recounting the incident on his Facebook page, Yinzhou had been walking back home alone from a friend's engagement party nearby when he spotted the heavyset tattooed man lying by the side of the pavement along Nicoll Highway in the wee hours of the morning today at 2am.
Speaking to Coconuts Singapore, he mentioned that he was initially hesitant about approaching the man, as he thought that the Caucasian man was drunk. He noted something off about the scene: the man was drenched in sweat and had even lost control of his bladder. He also displayed involuntary eye and head movements — one of the symptoms of stroke. "I tried talking to him but he was not able to reply properly, and when he did, he was speaking in broken English," Yinzhou said, who presumed that he was a tourist.
Placing him in recovery position to prevent choking, Yinzhou confirmed that the man was indeed undergoing a relapse. In broken whispers the Argentine man by the name of Lucas stated that he had a history of the ailment, and the recurrent stroke had completely paralysed the left side of this body.
As they waited for the ambulance to arrive, Yinzhou kept talking to Lucas to make sure he stayed awake throughout. When help came, he assisted the paramedics in carrying the man into the ambulance, while making sure the man's belongings were stowed safely and his identification was at the ready."He maintained eye contact with me throughout, lifting his hand gingerly as he was in the ambulance as a sign of thanks," Yinzhou wrote on Facebook. "I am reminded that he could've been left there for a long period of time had I not passed by at that moment." He carried on his journey after the ambulance drove off.
Really, Lucas couldn't have been luckier to have Yinzhou as his saviour. Many would know that the 25-year-old is an avid humanitarian and founder of numerous social causes, including the Backalley Barbers initiative, where he and fellow volunteers give free haircuts to migrant workers.
His commitment to humanitarianism has also led him to form Geylang Adventures, a platform for social initiatives to help migrant workers in Geylang, as well as being part of the Singapore Nepal Relief Community.
According to an interview with SG, the dude even quit his job for a while and went to Australia to work as a shed builder for three months — just to get a first-hand experience of what it's like to be a migrant worker.
Adding to his already long list of altruistic achievements, he can now include saving a man's life in his résumé. Amazing.
Photos: Cai Yinzhou Facebook page; Geylang Adventures Facebook page