A minor boy from Groningen was seriously injured in a stabbing on Zaagmuldersweg on Sunday 16 July. The police had already arrested two suspects the same evening. The boy owes his life to a, until recently unknown, guardian angel who reanimated him. The victim’s mother tried to find out who the benefactor was via social media and tadaaa: he has been found. It concerns Kevin Sendar (29) from Corpus den Hoorn.
Just like other days, he was quietly in the car on his way to the gym when he noticed a lot of commotion in the Oosterparkwijk. “I saw towels being thrown from a German car. Then I ran out of my car and saw the man lying in a huge pool of blood.”, says Kevin. He doesn’t think twice and follows his instincts and the lessons of the Combat Live Saver Training which he had at the Ministry of Defence.
Not resuscitated, but the heavy bleeding stopped
When he arrived at the victim, he made a terrible observation. The boy suffered from an arterial hemorrhage. The boy saw pips and was far from clear. Logical, because he had lost a lot of blood. Kevin then does what he was taught: he puts pressure on the wound. And just as well. The little fellow had lost so much blood that a heartbeat could hardly be felt. That is an emergency measure of the body for survival. “Blood is then only sent to the essential organs.”
Much is written about the fact that Kevin would have resuscitated the boy. Although this is not the case – it is about stopping arterial bleeding – there is no doubt about it: without Kevin, the boy would not have made it. When the emergency services arrived on the scene, Kevin handed over the victim’s care to them. The boy has since been released from the hospital and is bravely starting his rehabilitation.
A hero in the shadows
The victim’s mother made a call on Facebook to track down the savior. A thank you was definitely in order. “Without him, my son might not have lived.” she said to Sikkom earlier. The message was shared many times and not without success.
Kevin didn’t know what hit him. “Of course you get a warm feeling from those messages, but it’s also very overwhelming,” he explains. “I’ve never experienced anything like this myself, it feels like something normal to do in such a situation.” He had briefly spoken to the victim’s mother by telephone.
Give that man an egg ball
Soon they will see each other face-to-face. It’s nice to be able to look someone like that in the eye. He himself lost his mother, so Kevin knows a little bit of the suffering he has prevented. “You saved someone’s baby. He can now look forward to a long, good future again.”, he says proudly. And so it is. Everyone salute Kevin. Next time you run into him in town you can get him a beer or egg ball.