TACLOBAN CITY – A nurse-turned-lawyer of the Bureau of Fire Protection was hailed a hero for reviving a five-year-old boy through cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) after he drowned in a resort in Macrohon, Southern Leyte recently.

TAN (Photo via Marie Marticio)

Earnswell Pacina Tan was watching over his sleeping baby when he was called by his brother-in-law Erdy Rojas for help. Rojas, a seaman, recovered the child from the water. However, he asked Tan, a trained medical and basic life support (BLS) professional, to perform CPR. "I am grateful to my brother-in-law because one of the factors for effective CPR is early detection. If the child was recovered later, then the outcome of my CPR would have been different," Tan recalled. Tan was recorded performing multiple CPRs on the boy until he was revived and brought to a hospital. The boy has since been discharged. "While I was performing the CPR, I was also praying to the Lord to please give the boy a second chance," said Tan when the  boy was turning blue while he was being revived. Tan said he was overwhelmed being called a hero and self-fulfilling to be God's instrument in saving someone's life. He is the acting chief of the Regional Administrative Division with the rank of Fire Senior Inspector at the BFP Regional Office-8 (Eastern Visayas) here. He said everyone, not only rescuers and those in the medical profession, needs to learn basic life support. "We do not know when and where we will need it. If there are untoward incidents that require BLS or CPR, at least we are ready because rescuers are not always around," he said. He added that it takes time to call for help and to travel to rescue, so while en route, someone needs to do something onsite.