Highlights
- Abdulelah Al-Enezi arrived in Melbourne from Riyadh in 2017 to study nursing.
- He managed to stop the bleeding of an elderly woman who was found lying in the Austin Hospital car park.
- The Saudi nursing student will return to Riyadh after graduation to serve patients in his home country.
Mr Al-Enezi arrived in Australia from Riyadh in late 2017 to study nursing after he won a scholarship from the King Fahd Medical City in the Saudi capital.
Now in the final year of his studies, he’d been enrolled in a training program at Austin Hospital in Melbourne.
Last week, he said he had no idea he’d be confronted with a situation that required quick intervention to save a life.
"The woman was suffering from a fractured ankle and a separation between the leg and foot and was bleeding heavily,” Mr Al-Enezi said.
“I also found out that she was taking a blood-thinning drug, which made the situation worse. She was in a state of panic.” .
In a matter of seconds, Mr Al-Enezi said he made a snap decision: "I knew the heavy bleeding could cause her death.”
“Thank God I was able to stop the bleeding. I dialled 000 and minutes later, the paramedics arrived.”
He said it was then that one of the attending paramedics looked at him and said: “You saved her life!”
Mr Al-Enezi, whose initiative was well-received by Austin Hospital and the King Fahd Medical City back home, said he chose to study nursing because “…it gives me a sense of achievement and fulfilment”.
Mr Al-Enezi is completing his nursing studies in Australia. Source: Abdelelah Al-Enezi
The joy I feel in my heart when I know I have helped a patient is like no other. Ever since elementary school, I’ve always been into voluntary work to connect with people and offer a hand to those in need.
Mr Al-Enezi said his family and friends took to social media to express how proud they were of him “for saving a life” thousands of kilometres away from home, demonstrating authentic Arabic values.
He will soon return to Saudi Arabia upon completion of his degree requirements at Deakin University.
"I am here to gain experience and serve Riyadh's hospitals. Now is the time to pay back. I will return to serve patients in my country," he said.
