This morning, (Sunday) just after 2:30 a.m., a 72-year-old man collapsed in his apartment in the A-Tur neighborhood of the Mount of Olives in east Jerusalem. The man’s wife saw what happened and was terrified. She quickly called emergency services for help.

Amir during an ambulance shift 768x1024 2
Amir during an ambulance shift

On the next street over, United Hatzalah Muslim volunteer EMT Amir Hashlamon was in bed. He was awoken by the blaring alarm of his emergency communications device. He quickly put on some clothes, raced out to his electric bike, and rushed over to the given address.

 

Amir arrived in under two minutes and was the first responder at the scene. When he entered the apartment, Amir found the man lying on the ground. After a quick check of the man’s vital signs, Amir found the man pulseless, and immediately attached a defibrillator, and launched into CPR. As Amir was attaching the defibrillator, the man’s wife explained to him how her husband was showing no symptoms and was completely fine just ten minutes prior.

 

After five minutes of performing CPR by himself, a mobile intensive care ambulance arrived and began to assist Amir. The team of responders continued their CPR efforts on the pulseless man for the next 25 minutes. They provided assisted ventilation and medications in an attempt to restart the man’s heart. 30 minutes after Amir had entered the apartment, the team managed to bring back a pulse. Once the man was stable enough to transport, he was taken to the nearest hospital.

 

When Amir isn’t out saving lives in his neighborhood he works as an office manager for Meuhedet in the Misgav LaDach Hospital in Jerusalem. He is also one of nearly 600 United Hatzalah volunteers around the country who is taking an active role in Israel’s world-leading vaccination operation and spends shifts everyday vaccinating people through the hospital and the HMO.

 

Amir spoke with pride about his early morning rescue. “This is not my first successful CPR in the early morning hours. It’s important for me to have an around the clock system of lifesaving in my community. This way, people feel safer and know that If a medical emergency should occur, United Hatzalah will be there to help. I am honored to represent United Hatzalah and be able to provide this service to my neighbors and community.”

 

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