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Man almost blacks out from great pain while saving drowning girl
By Xu Wenwen |
September 5, 2012, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
HUANG Xiaorong knew he would be hurt badly if he jumped down the 5-meter-high flood wall, but he still did it.
The pain almost killed him. But seeing the drowning little girl, he crawled along the dam about a dozen meters to the water, rolled into the water, swam to the girl, took her to the bank and performed first-aid.
Thanks to his heroics, the seven-year-old girl was saved, and first-aid doctors said if the man had pulled her out of the water 30 seconds later, she would have died.
"A leg, or a child's life, which one would you say is more important?" Huang asked when meeting reporters in the hospital.
Huang's right heel was fractured in more than 10 places and his right leg had a joint surface subsidence, said Fuyang TCM Orthopedic Hospital, where he is being treated for his injuries.
One week ago, few people outside family and friends would have known Huang, a 48-year-old who lives in Fuyang, Hangzhou, and runs a machine workshop. After rescuing the girl, he became another public hero similar to Wu Juping and Wu Bin.
In summer 2011, Wu Juping caught a young girl as she was falling from the 10th floor of her apartment. A few months ago, Wu Bin was also called a hero after the Hangzhou coach driver stopped his bus safely along the roadside after he was hit by a brake drum from another vehicle that smashed through the windshield. Wu Bin died from his injuries.
Now Huang is in the spotlight.
The incident occurred at Zhongyuan Village, Wanshi Town, Fuyang, on August 29. Huang had just finished lunch and stepped out of his company's canteen when he saw a girl running and shouting, "Fell, fell!"
He ran to the river's flood wall about 10 meters from the canteen and found a girl in red floating face down in the water.
The flood wall is almost 5 meters high and below it is a cement dam. Not faraway there is a bridge where there is a stairway to the river.
Huang had two options: jump down and swim to the girl, or, run over to the bridge and reach the girl. Huang didn't hesitate, choosing to jump because it would take only seconds while the latter needed minutes.
He did not even empty his pockets, which included cash and a cellphone.
"I saw the girl had stopped struggling, and I didn't think she could wait for me to run over to the bridge," Huang told Shanghai Daily. "I had to jump and the only thing I thought was whether I could save her."
Once Huang landed on the concrete dam, he almost blacked out from pain as his right heel was broken. He said he gritted his teeth and used his hands and left leg to crawl over the 10-plus-meter-wide dam, and then threw himself into the water and swam to the girl. Finally he held the girl's back and swam back to the dam.
Not until that moment did Huang realize the girl was his brother's granddaughter, Huang Shenxuan, however, she had stopped breathing.
Huang was desperate. While sitting in the water, he put the girl on his knee facing downward and patted her on the back. He also pulled some dirt lodged in her throat.
By then other villagers had arrived and someone had called for an ambulance. While Huang was doing CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation), the girl's eyes moved and she coughed the water out of her lungs.
She was then taken to the hospital. She recovered so quickly that she was released later that day.
Meanwhile, Huang was sent to Fuyang TCM Orthopedic Hospital, the same hospital where hero mother Wu Juping was treated.
"As a doctor, I have seen many similar cases and these patients suffered so much pain that they could barely move," said Qiu Xiaodong, Huang's doctor. "I believe it was his strong willpower that drove him to complete a series of actions after fracturing his heel."
Qiu said Huang had surgery of his left knee in October 2011 due to overexertion. He limped after having the surgery and it explained why he used his right foot to hit the ground when jumping over the flood wall.
Now the little girl has returned to class for the new term in Wanshi Town Elementary School.
Huang is still in hospital but doctors said he is recovering well. His right heel has been wrapped not in plaster, but in cedar bark, a traditional Chinese medicine method to treat fractures. It is the hospital's specialty.
He also takes herbal medicine daily while a herbal ointment is applied to his leg.
The hospital said he will be able to walk with a cane in three months and will be completely recovered in six months. Nevertheless, he needs to go through pain for months. The TCM treatment includes a very painful bone-setting massage every morning that can prevent problems from his previous knee operation.
"His face was crushed this morning during the bone-setting massage," said Huang Xiaoyu, his daughter. "Now both of my dad's legs are hurt."
But her father stopped her, saying, "If it was you who fell into the water, I believe there are people who would help you, too."
Huang's bravery was recognized by the Hangzhou Foundation for Justice and Courage, which visited him at the hospital on Monday and awarded him 50,000 yuan (US$7,730).
The pain almost killed him. But seeing the drowning little girl, he crawled along the dam about a dozen meters to the water, rolled into the water, swam to the girl, took her to the bank and performed first-aid.
Thanks to his heroics, the seven-year-old girl was saved, and first-aid doctors said if the man had pulled her out of the water 30 seconds later, she would have died.
"A leg, or a child's life, which one would you say is more important?" Huang asked when meeting reporters in the hospital.
Huang's right heel was fractured in more than 10 places and his right leg had a joint surface subsidence, said Fuyang TCM Orthopedic Hospital, where he is being treated for his injuries.
One week ago, few people outside family and friends would have known Huang, a 48-year-old who lives in Fuyang, Hangzhou, and runs a machine workshop. After rescuing the girl, he became another public hero similar to Wu Juping and Wu Bin.
In summer 2011, Wu Juping caught a young girl as she was falling from the 10th floor of her apartment. A few months ago, Wu Bin was also called a hero after the Hangzhou coach driver stopped his bus safely along the roadside after he was hit by a brake drum from another vehicle that smashed through the windshield. Wu Bin died from his injuries.
Now Huang is in the spotlight.
The incident occurred at Zhongyuan Village, Wanshi Town, Fuyang, on August 29. Huang had just finished lunch and stepped out of his company's canteen when he saw a girl running and shouting, "Fell, fell!"
He ran to the river's flood wall about 10 meters from the canteen and found a girl in red floating face down in the water.
The flood wall is almost 5 meters high and below it is a cement dam. Not faraway there is a bridge where there is a stairway to the river.
Huang had two options: jump down and swim to the girl, or, run over to the bridge and reach the girl. Huang didn't hesitate, choosing to jump because it would take only seconds while the latter needed minutes.
He did not even empty his pockets, which included cash and a cellphone.
"I saw the girl had stopped struggling, and I didn't think she could wait for me to run over to the bridge," Huang told Shanghai Daily. "I had to jump and the only thing I thought was whether I could save her."
Once Huang landed on the concrete dam, he almost blacked out from pain as his right heel was broken. He said he gritted his teeth and used his hands and left leg to crawl over the 10-plus-meter-wide dam, and then threw himself into the water and swam to the girl. Finally he held the girl's back and swam back to the dam.
Not until that moment did Huang realize the girl was his brother's granddaughter, Huang Shenxuan, however, she had stopped breathing.
Huang was desperate. While sitting in the water, he put the girl on his knee facing downward and patted her on the back. He also pulled some dirt lodged in her throat.
By then other villagers had arrived and someone had called for an ambulance. While Huang was doing CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation), the girl's eyes moved and she coughed the water out of her lungs.
She was then taken to the hospital. She recovered so quickly that she was released later that day.
Meanwhile, Huang was sent to Fuyang TCM Orthopedic Hospital, the same hospital where hero mother Wu Juping was treated.
"As a doctor, I have seen many similar cases and these patients suffered so much pain that they could barely move," said Qiu Xiaodong, Huang's doctor. "I believe it was his strong willpower that drove him to complete a series of actions after fracturing his heel."
Qiu said Huang had surgery of his left knee in October 2011 due to overexertion. He limped after having the surgery and it explained why he used his right foot to hit the ground when jumping over the flood wall.
Now the little girl has returned to class for the new term in Wanshi Town Elementary School.
Huang is still in hospital but doctors said he is recovering well. His right heel has been wrapped not in plaster, but in cedar bark, a traditional Chinese medicine method to treat fractures. It is the hospital's specialty.
He also takes herbal medicine daily while a herbal ointment is applied to his leg.
The hospital said he will be able to walk with a cane in three months and will be completely recovered in six months. Nevertheless, he needs to go through pain for months. The TCM treatment includes a very painful bone-setting massage every morning that can prevent problems from his previous knee operation.
"His face was crushed this morning during the bone-setting massage," said Huang Xiaoyu, his daughter. "Now both of my dad's legs are hurt."
But her father stopped her, saying, "If it was you who fell into the water, I believe there are people who would help you, too."
Huang's bravery was recognized by the Hangzhou Foundation for Justice and Courage, which visited him at the hospital on Monday and awarded him 50,000 yuan (US$7,730).
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