Kyra Stevens, a 15-year-old schoolgirl from Sans Souci, saved the life of her rugby coach after he fell into a diabetic coma.
According to IOL, coach Shafiek Murphy (48) was discovered unconscious by a colleague, who then called the school’s principal and two other teachers for help.
Stevens, who also has diabetes, was then called for over the school’s intercom to assist the group.
Stevens spoke to IOL and said that she was in shock to see her coach in a coma. She said, “The teachers in the room trusted me to help him because I am diabetic. I wanted to check his sugar but could not find blood in the one hand because it was cold.
“I told one of the teachers to warm his fingers, and found blood. I checked his sugar and the reading was high.
“I asked where is his insulin and emergency kit were, and they found it in his bag. I then gave him 25mg of insulin. Everyone was in such a panic; they called the ambulance but then they said they couldn’t wait too long, and one of the teachers offered to rush Mr Murphy to hospital.
“Words can’t explain how I kept myself calm during that period. I’d never seen someone in a coma before this. I am really feel proud of myself for saving Mr Murphy, and thanks to God for helping me stay strong.”
Stevens administered the insulin and afterwards Murphy was taken to the hospital, where it was found that his sugar levels were near-fatal. Nurses placed him on a drip and he emerged from the coma five hours later.
Murphy had been in Durban this month coaching the Western Cape Under-15 Girls rugby team at the Winter Games. He apparently had been feeling ill throughout the competition. Upon returning to Sans Souci, he fell into the diabetic coma.
Murphy spoke to IOL and expressed his gratitude towards the student who saved him. “They then did X-rays and found out that I had a chest infection and tonsillitis, which caused my sugar levels to rise. My kidney was also damaged because of what happened,” he said. “She saved my life. The doctors said if she had given me the insulin five or 10 minutes later, I would have died.”
Image: Unsplash
