Chapter 28 — The First Heartbeat

The next morning, the whole team gathered at the conference center to attend the closing ceremony and announce the results of the City Level First Aid Skills Assessment Competition. The atmosphere in the large hall was filled with suspense, as five teams representing schools sat in the front rows, waiting for the important moment.

But before the official results announcement began, an unexpected situation happened. While everyone was settling down, an old man, perhaps a relative of a contestant attending the closing ceremony, suddenly staggered and fell to the floor right in the middle of the main aisle of the hall, not far from where Phan Dinh Phung's team sat.

The sound of panic immediately spread throughout the hall. Some people stood up, but most just stood and watched, not knowing what to do, while the event organizers, busy with preparations for the closing ceremony, also lost a few precious seconds to realize the situation.

Thien Kim, in that moment, felt her heart rate skyrocket — a familiar reaction that she had learned to recognize and no longer let it engulf her like before. She took a short breath, and before she could think too much, she stood up and ran quickly towards the old man lying on the floor, with Minh Vu and the whole team following closely behind.

"Everyone step back, give us space!" she shouted loudly, her decisive voice echoing throughout the surrounding area, authoritative enough to make the curious crowd automatically expand.

She knelt down next to the old man and quickly assessed the situation: the old man was still conscious but breathing rapidly, one side of his face showed slight signs of sagging, and his right hand was much weaker than his left when she asked him to hold her hand. These signs, she recognized immediately from what she had learned in the advanced review session a few weeks ago — there was a high possibility that these were signs of a stroke.

"Mr. Vu, call an ambulance immediately, clearly state suspected stroke, need priority medical team," Thien Kim ordered, his voice not shaking at all. "Trang, hold your head in a gentle, safe tilted position to avoid choking if you vomit. Duc, ask if anyone knows if you have any medical history or if you take any medications regularly."

The whole team took action immediately, coordinating smoothly as they had practiced countless times over the past six weeks. Thien Kim, while reassuring the old man with a warm, steady voice — "Grandma, you're safe, we're helping you, the ambulance is coming" — still constantly monitored vital signs, ready to adjust treatment if the situation changed.

A medical staff member from the organizing committee, who was present at the event to assist in case of need, eventually pushed his way through the crowd to the scene, but seeing that the entire procedure had been carried out precisely, almost perfectly, by Phan Dinh Phung's team, this person simply took over and reconfirmed the condition before the professional emergency team arrived a few minutes later.

When the ambulance took the old man away, the entire hall burst into applause for the team of students who handled the situation calmly and professionally right in front of everyone's eyes, including the competition's judges.

Ms. Lien, standing on stage observing the entire incident, could not hide her emotions as she held the microphone to speak. "Ladies and gentlemen, what just happened is the clearest demonstration of the true value of this program," she said, her voice filled with emotion. "This was not a simulated situation on the test. This was a real situation, happening off-script, and the students handled it with the same calmness and professionalism that they showed all day yesterday."

Thien Kim, standing there in the middle of the hall, her heart still beating fast because she had just gone through a really stressful situation, felt a completely different feeling than what she had experienced in the cafeteria four months ago. This time, even though the pressure was no less, even though this was a real situation with real risks, she took action, led her team to handle it properly, without freezing.

She is not a completely different person from the girl who once stood motionless in front of the choking boy in the cafeteria. She still felt scared, her heart still beat fast, her hands still shook a little in the first few seconds. But the biggest difference is that, this time, she has learned to act even when fear is still there, instead of letting it completely control her.

Minh Vu, standing next to her after the situation was over, gently placed his hand on her shoulder. “You did it,” he said, his voice filled with pride and emotion. "You really did it."

"I didn't think I would be able to react that quickly," Thien Kim admitted, her voice still shaking slightly from the after effects of the stress she had just experienced. "But it's like my body automatically knows what to do, based on all the practice I've done."

"That's what practice brings," Minh Vu said. "It's not about absolute perfection, it's about being able to react properly even when your mind is panicking."

After that unexpected incident, the official results announcement ceremony continued, although the atmosphere in the hall was now filled with a special emotion and admiration for the Phan Dinh Phung team. Before announcing the results of each team, Ms. Lien invited Thien Kim on stage to share a few words about what had just happened.

Thien Kim stepped onto the stage, her heart still beating fast, but this time not because of panic, but because of a familiar, healthy nervousness. "I think the thing I learned the most through eight months at the Red Cross Club was not how to never be afraid," she said into the microphone, her voice trembling slightly but clearly, echoing throughout the silent listening hall. "It's about how to act right even when you're still afraid. Three years ago, I stood frozen in front of a similar situation, unable to do anything. Today, I'm still afraid, my hands still shake in the first few seconds, but I've learned how to not let that fear stop me anymore. I think, that's what this program, and the teachers and friends who have accompanied me, have taught me — not perfection, but the courage to keep trying."

A long round of applause rang out throughout the hall after that sharing. Many people in the audience, including the parents of other contestants, could not hide their emotions. Thien Kim walked off the stage, found her seat next to her teammates, feeling a sense of relief and pride that she had never experienced in such a complete way.

The results announcement section then reviews each team in turn, starting with the consolation prize, third prize, then second prize. When the names of other teams were announced without Phan Dinh Phung's name yet, Thien Kim felt her heart pounding, her hand unconsciously holding Minh Vu's hand sitting next to her.

"No matter what happens, we did our best," Minh Vu whispered, gently squeezing her hand to reassure her.

"And now, the first prize in the entire city, with a perfect score in all three competitions, belongs to the team from Phan Dinh Phung High School!" The host's voice rang out excitedly through the speaker system.

The whole team jumped up and hugged each other in uncontrollable joy. Tuyet Mai, sitting in the audience below to cheer for her best friend, shouted proudly and waved non-stop. Thien Kim, surrounded by the congratulatory embraces of Duc, Trang, Phong and Ms. Hoa, turned to look at Minh Vu. The two exchanged a look containing so many emotions of a long journey they had gone through together.

When their team's name was announced as the team winning the first prize in the whole city, with perfect scores in all three competitions, the entire hall stood up and applauded endlessly, and Thien Kim, standing among her teammates on the stage receiving the award, felt a happiness and pride that was beyond anything she had ever imagined when she first stepped into the school's medical room eight months ago.

Ms. Lien awarded each team member a city-level certificate, along with a small heart-shaped badge with an EKG heart rate line running across the middle — the official symbol of the program. When receiving that badge, Thien Kim looked at it for a long time, her finger lightly brushing the heartbeat line engraved on it, and suddenly remembered the small roll of bandages that Minh Vu had given her many months ago - another small souvenir, carrying a similar meaning to the journey of maturity that she had gone through.

"In addition to the First Prize for the competition team, the City Red Cross Association also decided to officially recognize the Red Cross Club of Phan Dinh Phung School as one of the typical club models at the city level," Ms. Lien further announced, making the whole team once again burst into joy. "The school will receive long-term funding to maintain and develop the program, as well as the opportunity to train additional resource teachers for other schools in the area."

That news was especially meaningful to Thien Kim, as she remembered the meeting in early November, when the club was at risk of completely cutting its budget. Now, just six months later, not only has that risk completely disappeared, but the club is recognized as a model for the entire city — a clear testament to what a small, persistent group can achieve when each member is willing to push their own limits.

On the way home, the whole team sat on the same school bus, the atmosphere was filled with chatter and laughter, everyone was still giddy with joy of victory. Thien Kim sat next to the window, looking out at the streets of Hanoi passing by in the sunset, her hand still clutching the small heart-shaped badge, her heart filled with a deep gratitude for everything, and everyone, who had accompanied her during the past eight months.