The customer waiting her turn at the counter fainted, hitting her face hard on the ground and no longer breathing. She was saved thanks to the timely intervention of Davide Vaccargiu, 38, manager of the post office on Via Pascoli in Assemini, who performed CPR and restarted a heart that was in danger of stopping. "I simply put into practice what I learned in first aid," says the man responsible for the life-saving intervention.

The incident occurred yesterday morning: "I was behind the counter, monitoring my colleagues' work," says the manager of the Assemini Centro branch, "when I saw Mrs. Lucia, who was sitting in the front room, lose consciousness and fall forward, hitting her face hard on the floor. A crowd of people immediately gathered around the customer, and I rushed over, joined by my colleague Graziella Boninu, to provide assistance. I immediately asked everyone to move away, while the woman had completely lost consciousness."

From the very beginning, Vaccargiu followed the Gas rule (Look, Listen, Feel) according to the steps identified by the BLS protocol, "learned during the first aid course, to check if she was breathing and if her heart was beating."

Vaccargiu recalls those moments: "It all happened very quickly. I immediately realized the client wasn't breathing, and since I couldn't hear a heartbeat, I turned to the colleague who was supporting me and said, 'I have to start compressions.'"

I asked another colleague to call 911 and at the same time, the customers were asked to leave the office. I began chest compressions, as per procedure, and after the 17th compression, the woman regained consciousness and was placed in the recovery position while waiting for the ambulance . Shortly thereafter, the 911 volunteers arrived and then continued the intervention and took the woman to the hospital.

The director doesn't hide the emotion and joy he felt after the rescue: "It was a huge relief for everyone, and for me it was a particularly intense moment, as well as an indescribable joy. As soon as I realized what had happened and fully grasped what had just happened, I felt a tremendous emotion: I had just saved a life."

Mrs. Lucia is a loyal customer of the post office on Via Pascoli. Her providential gesture also earned the applause of many colleagues and customers who were there on pension payment day. "Many thanked me for what I'd done," continues Davide, who has been with Poste Italiane since 2007, "and some hugged me, congratulating me on what I'd just accomplished."

Enrico Fresu

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