One month ago, a 13-year-old boy took advantage of his parents going away on a vacation and decided to throw a party in his home in Geva Binyamin. He invited a couple of friends over on Friday night and they brought alcohol. The teenagers began drinking and enjoying their time, not realizing exactly how much alcohol they were consuming.

At just 13-years-old, the boy was unaware of the extreme effects of alcohol and drank a dangerous amount for his tolerance. One thing led to another and the young boy’s body reacted poorly to the alcohol, causing him to collapse and lose consciousness. When the boy’s older brother, who was present at the party realized his little brother was unconscious, he quickly called United Hatzalah’s Dispatch and Command Center.

United Hatzalah volunteer EMT Michael Chai Cohen was at home in Geva Binyamin, enjoying Shabbat dinner with his family when he received an emergency alert after United Hatzalah’s dispatching system identified him as the closest EMT to the scene. Excusing himself and apologizing to his family, Michael rushed out to his ambucycle and drove to the address of the emergency. Michael arrived at the location in just under three minutes and entered the house. As he walked through the door he was hit with a strong smell of alcohol. When he saw the boy lying on the ground, with vomit covering his shirt and the EMT understood what had happened.

Michael started by checking the boy’s vital signs. He then attached an IV and with the help of the boy’s brother, lifted the child onto the couch, keeping him in an upright position, in case he had more to throw up. At this point, the ambulance was on its way and all they had to do was wait for it, but Michael did not stop there.

With the help of the older brother, Michael took the boy to be rinsed off in the bathroom and dressed in clean clothes. By the time the ambulance finally arrived the boy was appropriately dressed, and starting to regain consciousness.

“Every person deserves to be treated with respect,” Michael said. “I knew I couldn’t allow the child to be transported in the state he was in and knew that even though he was regaining consciousness, my job wasn’t over. A brief moment of discomfort for me in helping the boy is worth it to help maintain a person’s dignity, no matter what the age.”

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