Don’t Leave Home Without It

American Express famously coined the slogan that says, “Don’t leave home without it.”

But for a United Hatzalah medic, the object of the saying is not a credit card but your medical equipment. Because you never know where the next emergency might strike.

I am currently touring Japan with my oldest daughter, Abigail, who is 18. And while I may technically be on vacation, a United Hatzalah medic is always on call.

As any Kosher Jewish tourist knows, finding kosher food abroad is always a challenge. But in Japan, this has been elevated to something of an adventure. Last night, we got stuck without much to eat, so this morning when we found a vegan restaurant, Abigail decided to order an avocado toast.

She ate most of it before I finally asked her how it was.

“The bread is weird,” she told me.

I looked at what was left and noticed what appeared to be walnuts baked into the bread.

We finished up and continued sightseeing, eventually making our way to Kyoto’s famous torii gates. Everything seemed perfectly normal.

Until it wasn’t.

As we were leaving, Abigail suddenly turned to me.

“Am I swollen? I feel weird.”

Within moments, she began itching. Then came nausea. Her eyes became red. She felt a tickle developing in her throat.

For any seasoned medic, these symptoms are familiar. Anaphylaxis. Now, in the midst of the wonders of Japan, the question was: how are we going to counteract the allergic reaction?

In the blink of an eye, I stopped being a tourist and donned my United Hatzalah medic persona.

Thankfully, I abided by the cardinal rule, don’t leave home without it’. In my case, the object of ‘it’ was my EpiPen straight out of my United Hatzalah Medic Bag. These are the kind of knick-knacks that every medic is sure to pack, even when going on vacation.

I administered the injection and reached out to one of United Hatzalah’s volunteer physicians for additional medical guidance. Thank G-d, Abigail responded well and is now doing fine.

You can travel thousands of kilometers from home. You can leave the ambulance, the ambucycle, and the dispatch alerts behind. You can wander through Kyoto with your daughter, looking at temples and gates and the beauty this world has to offer, but your true identity is never off.

It was certainly not the memory I expected us to make while traveling through Japan together. But it was also a powerful reminder of something every first responder understands.

So, the next time you plan a trip abroad, make sure to don’t leave home without’ your medic equipment. You never know whose life might depend on it. And it doesn’t hurt to have your AmEx card with you too!