Lidan Feedling, an event producer who lives in Netanya with his wife and two children, was at home one recent morning when he received an alert that a man was injured at the nearby train station. A commuter at Netanya’s train station tripped and fell onto the tracks where he was struck by a passing train. Horrified witnesses called United Hatzalah dispatchers who immediately identified Lidan as one of the closest available EMTs.
Without hesitation, Lidan confirmed that he was on his way as he rushed outside and jumped onto his ambucycle. Lidan rushed towards the familiar location, arriving two minutes later with a fellow United Hatzalah ambucycle volunteer.
The pair of EMTs found the 58-year-old man lying beside the train tracks and writhing in pain. The man was bleeding heavily from traumatic injuries to both of his arms; if the blood flow couldn’t be stopped immediately – it would be fatal.
The United Hatzalah medics worked in synchronicity, racing against the clock to quickly apply tourniquets to his arms and stop the bleeding. Having successfully stemmed the bleeding, Lidan took vital signs as his colleague checked for further injuries. The medics started an IV to avoid the patient going into hypovolemic shock, affixed a neck brace for C-spine stabilization, and immobilized the victim to prevent secondary trauma injuries. They then quickly transferred him to a municipal ambulance for rapid evacuation to Laniado Medical Center for further treatment.
“Thanks to the quick alert and the ability I have to get through traffic, I was able to arrive at the scene in less than three minutes and begin medical treatment. Had this man waited even a few moments longer, he would likely have bled out and would probably not have survived. I have no doubt that the quick intervention saved this man’s life, Lidan said.
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