The last day of 2018 in Mevaseret Tzion, Tomer Greenzeid, a United Hatzalah volunteer EMT was heading to work when his emergency phone application alerted him to a medical emergency in his vicinity. A 67-year-old man suffered respiratory distress and stopped breathing on the same street that Tomer was located on at that very instant.  

Tomer, who is used to receiving such emergency calls, rushed to the address of the incident. In his car were his medical kit and an automated external defibrillator (AED) issued by the organization he volunteers for. In less than 60 seconds, Tomer arrived at the address. He located the patient who was unconscious and had no pulse and attached the defibrillator he was carrying. He was joined a moment later by Paramedic Uriel Amrani who was also nearby and was similarly alerted to the incident.

The pair began CPR and almost immediately after, two other United Hatzalah volunteers rushed in the door and joined the effort. The team of first responders administered four shocks from the defibrillator before the patient’s heart started beating once again. The man then began breathing on his own. When the Intensive Care Ambulance team arrived, they transported the patient to the nearest hospital in Jerusalem.

Last week, Tomer and Uriel were invited by the man and his family to their home in order to meet the first responders who saved his life. The meeting took place in the living room of the family residence located in the Castel section of Mevaseret. Tomer and Uriel were happy to see that the man had been released from the hospital and was now alive and happy in the care of his family.

Tomer and Uriel told the family of their efforts in saving the life of their patriarch and showed them how the defibrillator that they used to save his life works. The family thanked the volunteers for their efforts in saving their father, husband, and grandfather, noting how rare the occurrence is that a person returns to full health after requiring CPR.

At the end of the meeting, the family presented the volunteers with a letter of appreciation and said: “From our perspective, you are now a part of our family.”

 

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