Heavyweight rescue! A 230kg woman was trapped on the 5th floor and was unconscious... Medical staff and firefighters were dispatched and it took more than 3 hours to rush her to the hospital

Heavyweight rescue! In early March this year, the medical team of Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Xinzhuang District Fire Department of New Taipei City worked together to complete a large-scale rescue! A woman who was in a state of confusion, breathing rapidly, with low blood oxygen and weighing nearly 230 kilograms was rescued from a 5th-floor apartment for emergency medical treatment. More than 10 people, including medical staff from the Ministry of Health, paramedics and firefighters from the Fire Department, and local village heads, were mobilized and it took more than 3 hours to finally successfully send the woman to Taipei Hospital for treatment!

The medical team of Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Xinzhuang District Fire Department of New Taipei City worked together to complete a large-scale rescue! (Photo provided by Taipei Hospital)

Director Li Yaping of the Family Medicine Department, who immediately discovered the opportunity for rescue, said that during a home visit at the end of February this year, she found that the patient was slightly edematous, his breathing was labored, and he had a rash on his body. She first gave him medication and adjusted his condition for observation and arranged another home visit later. When we arrived at the patient's home in early March, we found that the patient was in a state of confusion, breathing rapidly, and low blood oxygen. We immediately decided to send him to the hospital for further treatment and assisted the family in contacting fire rescue personnel.

The fire department dispatched 8 firefighters and paramedics to carefully carry the woman down from the 5th floor.

The fire department dispatched 8 firefighters and paramedics. Because the woman's home was on the 5th floor of an apartment building with no elevator, they finally wrapped her in a blanket and carefully carried her down from the 5th floor. However, the woman was too heavy to get into the ambulance, so she was taken over by a 3.5-ton truck provided by a kind neighbor. The woman was finally accompanied by medical staff, firefighters and paramedics and arrived at the emergency room of Taipei Hospital for treatment.

Director Yang Shuzhen of the social work office said that the woman was able to help her family sell snacks in her early years. Later, she gradually gained weight due to suspected mental and endocrine problems, and eventually became unable to go out. She could only sit in the room all day, and her daily life such as eating, bathing, turning over, etc. all needed the help of her family members. She felt very hard and powerless. As he was completely unable to walk due to his overweight and lived on the 5th floor of an apartment, it was difficult for him to seek medical treatment. With the referral of Zhonghua Village Chief Chen Jingbo and Xinzhuang Health Center, the Taipei Hospital provided vulnerable case health management and home medical intervention, with medical staff coming to his home to assist with medical care, and medical volunteers providing regular home visits and care.

Rescue of a 230 kg woman with blurred consciousness! Medical staff and firefighters were dispatched and it took more than three hours to rush the patient to the hospital. (Photo provided by Taipei Hospital)

The woman is still in the intensive care unit for further examination and treatment. The family thanked Taipei Hospital's Family Medicine Department Director Li Yaping for her timely visit and accompanying her to the hospital: "Luckily, a doctor came to visit, otherwise I really don't know what to do. Thank you so much. Thank you for accompanying my wife throughout the whole process. You really saved her life."

Director Li Yaping, who facilitated this rescue incident, said that home medical care is mainly to assist patients who are unable to go out for medical treatment to obtain necessary medical care and to reduce the inconvenience of patients and their families in traveling to and from the hospital. Families in need can bring the patient's health insurance card or a summary of previous medical records and register for an evaluation at the family medicine clinic.