A few weeks ago, just after 12 p.m., in the city of Kiryat Malachi in Israel’s southern region, a 35-year-old man was working at his job in a steel factory using a slicing machine, when he accidentally turned the machine to the wrong setting. The faster speed caused a piece of sharp steel to snap off and slice his left arm.
United Hatzalah volunteer EMT Ben-Hur Malcan was at work when he got the emergency alert from United Hatzalah’s Dispatch and Command Center notifying him of the emergency. Ben-Hur rushed to the factory, arriving in just under three minutes together with a number of other volunteers. He entered a scene of pure chaos. Ben Hur saw that the local team of responders were at a loss of how to help treat the man as the steel was still embedded inside his arm. The situation was urgent as the piece of steel had cut right through the man’s arm and had reached his bone.
The experienced EMT took charge of the situation and carefully removed the steel piece and then began bandaging the injury site. Once he had gotten the bleeding to stop, Ben Hur stayed with the patient, continually checking the man’s vital signs to make sure that he didn’t go into shock before the ambulance arrived. Once the ambulance was at the scene, Ben Hur helped transfer the patient into the ambulance which then transported him to the nearest medical facility. The man had to undergo an intense surgery but thankfully made a full recovery.
“I feel very lucky that the sight of blood or a serious injury doesn’t rattle me, or cloud my judgment,” Ben-Hur commented. “When I arrived at the scene, there was a large amount of blood on the floor, and the man’s bone was exposed, causing both him and his co-workers to freak out. I’m glad I was able to bring the chaos back to order and take control of the situation so that this man received treatment quickly. Proper scene management sometimes is just as important as medical treatment.”