Cape Town - A Grade 9 pupil at Sans Souci Girls’ High School has been hailed a hero after saving the life of her rugby coach.
Quick-thinking by Kyra Stevens, 15, of Kenilworth, and her calmness under pressure, proved to be critical in preventing the death of Shafiek Murphy.
The Mitchells Plain resident, who coached the Western Cape girls Under-15 rugby team at the Winter Games in Durban this month, felt ill throughout the competition.
When he returned to school he went into a diabetic coma.
Murphy, 48, was found in his classroom by colleague Firisca Beukes, who summoned principal Ruschda O’Shea and two other teachers.
Speedily remembering that Kyra, like Murphy, was diabetic, they asked her via the intercom to rush to where Murphy had collapsed.
“I was shocked to see my coach in a coma. 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,” said Kyra, who was diagnosed with diabetes in 2017.
“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.”
When they arrived at hospital nurses checked Murphy’s vital signs. After taking blood they found his blood sugar level was 36, high and near-fatal.
He was put on a drip, and came out of his coma five hours later.
“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,” said Murphy, who was diagnosed with diabetes 27 years ago.
He was thankful for what Kyra had done for him.
“She saved my life. The doctors said if she had given me the insulin five or 10 minutes later, I would have died.”
Kyra’s mother, Kim, said her daughter was strong and independent.
“Kyra never wants to show any weakness and shines under pressure. That was why she remained cool and calm.”
O’Shea said Kyra was her hero. “We remembered (that she is diabetic) because she struggled to accept that she had diabetes. We called her and she took charge of the whole situation.”