Daniel Hernandez, gay 20 year old intern, likely saved Rep. Gabrielle
Giffords' life with first aid
Daniel Hernandez had been U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' intern for
five days when she was shot Saturday outside Tucson.
The junior at the University of Arizona was helping check people in at
the "Congress on Your Corner" event when he heard gunfire. He was
about 30 feet from the congresswoman. When the shots began, he ran
toward them.
"I don't even know if the gunfire had stopped," he said Saturday night
as he kept a vigil at the University Medical Center cafeteria,
gathered near a TV watching tributes and getting updates.
When the shots began that morning, he saw many people lying on the
ground, including a young girl. Some were bleeding. Hernandez said he
moved from person to person checking pulses.
"First the neck, then the wrist," he said. One man was already dead.
Then he saw Giffords. She had fallen and was lying contorted on the
sidewalk. She was bleeding.
Using his hand, Hernandez applied pressure to the entry wound on her
forehead. He pulled her into his lap, holding her upright against him
so she wouldn't choke on her own blood. Giffords was conscious, but
quiet.
Ron Barber, Giffords' district director, was next to her. Hernandez
told a bystander how to apply pressure to one of Barber's wounds.
Barber told Hernandez, "Make sure you stay with Gabby. Make sure you
help Gabby."
Hernandez used his hand to apply pressure until someone from inside
Safeway brought him clean smocks from the meat department. He used
them to apply pressure on the entrance wound, unaware there was an
exit wound. He never let go of her.
He stayed with Giffords until paramedics arrived. They strapped her to
a board and loaded her into an ambulance. Hernandez climbed in with
her. On the ride to the hospital, he held her hand. She squeezed his
back.
When they arrived at the hospital, Hernandez was soaked in blood. His
family brought him clean clothes because the FBI took his for
evidence.
He waited at the hospital while she went into surgery. He needed to
tell police what had happened. He overheard people walking by talking
about how Giffords had died. He also heard this on NPR. Later, he
learned she had lived.
"I was ecstatic," he said. "She was one of the people I've looked up
to. Knowing she was alive and still fighting was good news. She's
definitely a fighter, whether for her own life, or standing up for
people in southern Arizona."
The fact that Hernandez was nearby and able to react quickly probably
saved Giffords' life, said state Rep. Matt Heinz, D-Tucson, and a
hospital physician. He talked to Hernandez at the hospital after the
shooting.
Eight hours after the shooting, Hernandez stood with Giffords' friends
and staff and told them what had happened. The tall, strong
20-year-old said, "Of course you're afraid, you just kind of have to
do what you can."
They hugged and thanked him. Later, he sat with his mom and sisters
and told them about his friends and the staffers who had died that
day.
"You just have to be calm and collected," he said. "You do no good to
anyone if you have a breakdown. . . . It was probably not the best
idea to run toward the gunshots, but people needed help."
Read
more:http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/01/09/20110109daniel-hern...
--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy
