On Wednesday morning, at 8:10 a.m., United Hatzalah volunteer EMT Amir Rahmani was in his home in Givat Ze’ev when he was alerted to a nearby medical emergency. With no information other than a severely injured man and the name of the street two blocks down, Amir rushed out to his car and drove over. Amir searched Almon street until he found a police vehicle parked and an EMT already on the ground next to a severely wounded police officer with a bloody neck.
Amir pushed his door open and ran over to the scene to find a policeman with a stab wound on his neck and a policewoman with her weapon out. Realizing that whoever the attacker was, he was not yet neutralized, Amir asked the policewoman to cover the EMTs as they treated the stab wound. Amir then called United Hatzalah Dispatch and Command Center for immediate backup and an ambulance.
The EMT at the scene, United Hatzalah volunteer EMT Aharon Eichler, had arrived before Amir and began treating the policeman’s bloody wound as Amir attached two IVs for additional fluids. The two were able to stabilize the policeman’s condition until the ambulance arrived.
“Attaching an IV was the first thing I did,” said Amir. “When I saw the amount of blood emanating from the wound I knew it was a matter of time before the blood loss would be fatal, and that he needed an IV immediately. Ironically, I was just teaching a course on attaching an IV in Gush Etzion last night, who knew that just a few hours later I would be using that same information to open an IV for a police officer in order to save his life.”
As the police officer was loaded into the ambulance, Amir and the additional EMT decided to travel with the policemen to the nearest hospital, to ensure his stable condition. After a few minutes of driving, the ambulance rendezvoused with a mobile intensive care ambulance carrying three EMTs and a paramedic. When Amir saw that he was not needed, and the policeman was safe, he returned to the scene to collect information from the policewoman.
Amir added: “Considering the dangerous situation and all the parties involved, the man was treated quickly and efficiently. The cooperation with the police and additional medical personnel was what ensured swift treatment, and when the officer arrived at the hospital, his condition was stable and easier to treat. When it comes to a medical emergency, we are all working toward the same goal, to save a life.”
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