On Wednesday evening in Rehovot, an infant with a severe allergy to dairy grabbed a piece of bread that had cheese spread on it. His mother immediately took it away before he had time to fully put it in his mouth, but it was too late. The baby began wheezing audibly, and his face broke out in a rash. The mother immediately notified emergency services.

United Hatzalah volunteer EMT Yoni Sassi was relaxing at home with his family after a long day at work when he received an alert on his communications device about the nearby emergency. Jumping on his ambucycle, he rushed to the location with lights and sirens blaring, arriving in under 90 seconds. 

Sassi entered the apartment and found the nine-month-old patient wheezing and struggling to breathe, with a rash on his face. The experienced EMT quickly administered an EpiPen to the infant. The patient’s condition immediately began to improve as his breathing stabilized and the swelling from the rash began to dissipate. 

While assuring the parents that the immediate danger was behind them, Sassi continued to monitor the patient’s condition until the arrival of the Advanced Life Support Ambulance crew. After being examined by the paramedic, the infant was transported to the hospital for further observation.

“When you arrive in under 90 seconds at the scene and find a baby with an obstructed airway, being able to inject an EpiPen and literally see the baby ‘come back to life’ is an incredibly rewarding feeling,” said Sassi. “It’s a genuine feeling of saving a life, of saving an entire world, that gives you strength to continue.”