On Monday at around 8:15 a.m., an 88-year-old woman lost consciousness in the retirement home of Ma’ale Adumim. Her husband, who is also a resident in the home, immediately called United Hatzalah’s dispatch center to send help. He only speaks Russian so a Russian-speaking volunteer in dispatch translated the urgent message into Hebrew in order to send responders to the scene. 

Directly across the street from the home, United Hatzalah volunteer EMT Meir Bogot had just sat down in front of his computer with a fresh cup of iced coffee and started to work. The ringing of his communication device pulled him out of his trance of concentration and alerted him to the emergency a few meters away. Meir abandoned his coffee on his work desk and ran across the street to the scene. 

 

He found the unresponsive 88-year-old laying in her bed with her husband leaning over her worriedly. The woman’s husband is a retired doctor and understood that his wife had just suffered a heart attack. Later, after the incident, he mentioned that he and his wife had conversed just before and she had been feeling just fine. This was all so unexpected. Together, the EMT and the distressed husband gently but hurriedly placed the woman on the floor and Meir started to perform chest compressions. 

 

Meanwhile, United Hatzalah volunteer EMT Shlomi Azoulai was suddenly awakened by the ringing of his communication device, alerting him to the same emergency. Shlomi jumped out of bed, eager to help the woman in need. He quickly grabbed his jacket and medical gear, arrived at the scene within a minute, and joined Meir’s resuscitative efforts. 

 

Shlomi attached a defibrillator and an oxygen ambo mask and the team continued their CPR efforts. After a few minutes, an intensive care ambulance arrived along with EMTs and a Paramedic. They joined the efforts to save the woman’s life and for the next 30 minutes the combined team fought for the woman’s life. The team managed to bring the woman’s pulse back a few times but it was unstable and kept disappearing. No electric shocks were administered as the heart monitor deemed it unnecessary. 

 

The EMTs transferred the patient into the ambulance where they attached to her a Lucas device to continue the CPR compressions while en route to the hospital. The team was notified later that the woman’s pulse came back and she was stabilized in the hospital. 

 

After the incident, Shlomi commented, “In spite of the pulse not returning at the scene, because CPR was initiated so quickly, the patient survived and managed to be stabilized in the hospital. It’s amazing to think that I was part of such a miracle.”

 

Meir added, “Unfortunately, I am called very often to the home because of emergencies, and especially since I work from home and live so close. There have been times when I walk out disappointed when the incident ends unsuccessfully, but there are also times, like today, where I manage to help and the situations have a positive ending thank G-d.”

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