This morning at around 11:00 a.m., a 75-year-old man collapsed while on Levanda Street in Tel Aviv. It appeared that the man suffered from a sudden cardiac arrest. Passersby called emergency services for help while others who have previous CPR training rushed to his side and performed compressions on the man until help could arrive.
United Hatzalah volunteer EMT, Arieh Goldberg, was in the middle of his workday as a Kosher Supervisor at an event hall nearby. Upon receiving the GPS proximity alert to a man in need of immediate medical attention, Arieh darted out to his ambucycle and sped off towards the location, arriving in just 90 seconds.
The passerby performing CPR let the EMT take over as he arrived and stood by to assist if Aryeh requested help. Arieh checked for vital signs and found that the victim was without a pulse or signs of breathing, so he resumed the CPR. The veteran EMT attached an AED which administered a shock in less than a minute and resumed performing compressions on the man to keep his heart beating.
The trained EMT continued the resuscitation process and after four minutes that felt like an eternity, Arieh succeeded in restoring the patient’s pulse and breathing. “It was truly a miracle,” said Arieh with disbelief, “This was a very special and sadly unusual case, where the man’s pulse and breathing returned extremely quickly. Also, the fact that the man collapsed on the street instead of in his home played a part in this incident being different from the many other successful resuscitations I have been a part of in the past.”
By the time an intensive care unit arrived nearly six minutes later, the man’s condition was stable and he was ready for medical transport to the nearest hospital.
Immediately after the incident, when Arieh was getting ready to go back to work and continue his day, as usual, he received another notification from his communication device. He was notified of a pregnant woman experiencing severe contractions in her home. Despite his exhaustion from the CPR, he gathered up his gear and rushed over to the address.
“I was happy to have another opportunity to help a person in need. Going from one incident to the next is the best way to spend my time,” said Arieh, “Thank G-d, the ambulance arrived quickly and we succeeded in transporting the woman from her home to the hospital, where she had a smooth birth. I then continued with my day as usual and went back to work.”
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