The quick wit of a janitor at a condominium on the Riviera di Chiaia, in Naples,
saved the life of a sixty-two-year-old rider who suffered a cardiac arrest while doing his job.
The hero of this story is Raffaele Coppola, 35 years old, married and father of a little girl
, he was on duty in a building where he works as a cleaner and also in the role of 'warder' who works in the concierge when the owner is absent.
The scene, which was recorded by the condominium's security camera, is dramatic. The rider, who had just made a delivery in the same building, can be seen starting to stagger as soon as he sits on his moped. Two passers-by, a woman and a man, realize that there is a problem and ask for help loudly. At this point Raffaele Coppola enters the scene and rushes into the street, lifts the man and places him on the pavement and immediately afterwards begins to give him a cardiac massage and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. The resuscitative maneuvers last several minutes until an 118 ambulance arrives. The rider is taken to the Don Bosco hospital where he is stabilized. The man is safe and owes his life to the young warder from the Chiaia Riviera. He will have to stay in hospital for some more time for treatment and then he will be able to return home.
The drama of the event lies entirely in Coppola's story. "I heard the cries for help from passers-by - he explains - and I went down to the street. The man was collapsed on the moped.
I lifted him and placed him on the pavement, after freeing him from the backpack he had on his shoulders and his windbreaker. He was unconscious, cyanotic and couldn't hear a heartbeat. The passer-by had already asked for 118 assistance and I had his phone number through which I remained in contact with the doctor. At that point I began the manoeuvres I knew how to behave because a few years ago I worked in unarmed security and had taken a course. I gave him two breaths of air and only at that point did I hear his heartbeat again, even though he had never regained consciousness. After a few minutes the ambulance arrived and took him to hospital."
Coppola learned that the driver was saved from the man's wife and son who joined him at the reception to thank him. "For them and for me, that meeting was a moment of great emotion. I was worried that he hadn't made it. Then he himself sent me messages on his mobile phone. He didn't remember anything of the incident that was told to him from his family. He said that as soon as he gets better he will have to offer me dinner."