Volunteer firefighter prevents the injured man from bleeding out by pinching his artery for 45 minutes

On August 8, Brandon Maloney of Stewiacke, Nova Scotia, had a close shave with death. He was on his way to his sister's wedding with the groom when they took a wrong turn. As they were returning, a car ran to a stop sign, hitting Maloney and nearly killing him. He immediately realized his leg was severely injured and was losing a lot of blood. He and a bystander tried to wrap towels and a belt around the wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding, but it was to no avail.

"I looked at Brandon and said, 'I'm going to try something here, I'm going to put my hand down your leg.' We looked at each other and I found that artery and pinched it as hard as I could," Burke said, as per CBC. "And put my other hand down his leg and found the piece of the artery that was severed and was able to hold that and I held that until he went into the helicopter."

Troy Burke, a volunteer firefighter from Shediac River, New Brunswick, happened to be driving by and stopped to help. He saw the blood gushing from Maloney’s leg and was determined to save his life. Burke used his training to pinch Maloney’s artery for a full 45 minutes until the ambulance arrived. "I remember trying to give Brandon some hope and saying, 'Medical stuff is crazy, let's not worry about the leg.' I remember him propping up and looking at me saying, 'Bro, my leg is gone. Don't let me die here.' So I just continued, tried to keep him as calm as he could," Burke said. Maloney ended up receiving an above-knee amputation and is now waiting for a prosthetic leg so he can walk again. He wanted to thank Burke for his heroism and was happy to reconnect with him recently. Maloney said the two plan to meet up this summer for a celebration.

"It's good to let him know I'm doing alright, I pulled through, how much we appreciated it," Maloney said. "We were brought together for a reason," Burke said. Burke’s selfless act of heroism is truly inspiring. He put his own life on hold to save another and he has the admiration of many. It’s a reminder of how we can all be heroes, even in the smallest of ways. We can all help our fellow man, no matter how small or large the deed may be.

It is surprising how quickly life can change. He was on his way to his sister’s wedding, only to end up in the hospital. He was fortunate to have a stranger who saved him, but many of us may not be so lucky. Moreover, it is a reminder to always make sure we take the time to appreciate what we have and to make sure we do our best to help others when we can. Burke’s act of bravery will be remembered for years to come. He put aside his own safety and well-being to help a stranger and for that, he deserves our utmost respect and admiration. His heroic actions should be commended and honored for many years to come.