Yamah\u00a0Gboluma\u00a0was riding a crowded OC Transpo bus on July 24 , on her way to a job interview at a medical clinic, when a woman at the back started screaming for help.<\/p>\n
“He’s dying. Someone help me!” the woman called out.<\/p>\n Gboluma, who was a physician in her native Liberia, pushed her way to the back, where she saw the frantic woman beside a man in his 40s, slumped in his seat.<\/p>\n “I saw that the guy has become blue, really blue,” Gboluma recalled. “I was like,\u00a0oh man, this guy’s dying.”<\/p>\n Gboluma’s medical training kicked in and she quickly took control, calling to the driver to stop the bus and instructing passengers to call 911.<\/p>\n “I knew God had\u00a0put me there at that time to save him,” she said.<\/p>\n As the woman wept beside her, Gboluma\u00a0performed three cycles of CPR on the man until his\u00a0pulse returned and he began to regain his colour.<\/p>\n Paramedics soon arrived and Gboluma dashed to another bus so she wouldn’t be late for her interview.<\/p>\n Marc-Antoine Deschamps of the Ottawa Paramedic Service said Gboluma’s quick action was critical to the survival of the man, who was experiencing a life-threatening drug overdose.<\/p>\n “If bystanders do not start CPR the person starts to suffer brain damage extremely quickly,” Deschamps said. “That lady really made a difference, and we’re really grateful for what she did.”<\/p>\n Since arriving in Canada eight months ago, Gboluma said she’s been struggling through the frustrating accreditation process to practise medicine here. At the same time, she’s also hired a lawyer to help her in her bid for permanent residency.<\/p>\n “That’s why I’ve been volunteering all over town,” she said. “I’ve applied to work in a hospital or a clinic, that way I can get my foot in the medical system in Canada.”<\/p>\n “She saved somebody’s life,” said Ottawa police Insp. Isobel Granger, who attends church with Gboluma. “A lot of people view [immigrants] as a drain on the system, but there are a lot of contributions made by new Canadians.”<\/p>\n Granger believes Gboluma would make a great family doctor in Ottawa.<\/p>\n “I think we are missing out on a lot of really good people,” she said.<\/p>\nPerformed CPR<\/h2>\n
8-month struggle<\/h2>\n