A young man’s severe injuries triggered two Gardai to act bravely, and they received widespread appreciation for it.
Gardaí Roisín O’Donnell and Rose McGlynn were out on patrol along the M1 at Charleville, Co Louth, when they were flagged down by a distressed couple on the hard shoulder two weeks ago.
Gardai rushed to the aid of their son, Tabish, who had suffered serious injuries to his arm while at home.
The parents of Tabish’s car had a flat tyre when they were driving it to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda. The bone in their son’s arm was sticking out, and he was losing a lot of blood.
Quickly creating a tourniquet out of his parents’ clothes to stop the blood flow, Gardai immediately helped Tabish. While Garda O’Donnell managed traffic on the route, Garda McGlynn rushed Tabish and his parents to the hospital.
Gardai contacted medical personnel in advance of Tabish’s trip to the hospital because he was having intermittent bouts of unconsciousness. His illness was reported to the medical staff, and when he arrived, he was given emergency attention.
The young man likely would not have survived his injuries if not for the tourniquet implemented by the Gardai. Later, Tabish was sent to Connolly Hospital in Dublin for an extremely difficult operation.
The condition of the 19-year-old is presently stable. His injuries are anticipated to heal completely.
In a statement on social media gardaí said: “Some might think that ‘hero’ is too often cited, but we can say categorically that the quick-thinking, calm and measured response as a team that afternoon make our colleagues, Garda Roisín O’Donnell and Garda Rose McGlynn, true heroes”.