On Sunday evening, a year-and-a-half-old baby was brought by his parents to the Iron medical center in Kfar Kara after he choked. The baby wasn’t breathing and didn’t have any pulse. The panicked mother explained that the boy was choking on food that he had recently eaten.
Volunteer EMT Yasef Gziel Badawi
Yasef Gziel Badawi, a United Hatzalah volunteer EMT, who also volunteers at the medical center was present when the unconscious baby arrived. Yasef performed 3 sets of abdominal thrusts mixed with measured back blows. Within a few moments, his efforts were successful and the baby began breathing once again. Yasef checked the baby’s vital signs and saw his oxygen saturation level was low, so Yasef provided the baby with high-flow oxygen and the baby’s condition stabilized. A few minutes later, a mobile intensive care ambulance arrived and transported the baby to a nearby hospital.
After the incident Yasef recounted, ‘’This was my first time treating an unconscious baby. I started volunteering as an EMT a few months ago and I haven’t yet had to deal with this type of situation. Thankfully, I had excellent training and I knew exactly what needed to be done in this situation. I felt joy when I saw the baby regain consciousness and all of the stress that the parents felt dissipated when they saw that the danger had passed. Saving lives is truly fulfilling, it is a value that we should all stand by as people and society.”
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