Last week on Friday night, United Hatzalah volunteer EMT Gilad Orbach was sitting down for the Shabbat meal with his family at his home in Talmei Yechiel, when all of a sudden his communication device began to ring, disturbing the Shabbat atmosphere. A medical emergency was occurring in Gilad’s neighborhood and United Hatzalah’s automatic dispatching system identified Gilad as the nearest EMT. Excusing himself from the table, Gilad ran outside to his ambucycle and sped to the given location.
Gilad arrived on the scene in under a minute and walked into the house. Upon arrival, Gilad found an elderly man, around 80-years-old, lying on a couch with worried family members by his side. After a quick check of the man’s vital signs, Gilad found that his patient had suffered from severe convulsions. Though showing mild symptoms of a seizure, the man’s oxygen levels were extremely low.
Gilad immediately grabbed the oxygen tank from his medical bag and administered high flow oxygen while reassuring the worried family. With the oxygen flowing Gilad carried on with treating his patient and the man began to return to himself. Pretty soon he started breathing normally on his own.
When the ambulance arrived, they maintained oxygen therapy as the man was transferred to the nearest hospital for further treatment. After making sure the man was taken care of, Gilad returned to his family for the rest of the meal.
“Another incident occurred this week where a middle-aged woman had suffered from an epileptic seizure,” Gilad recounted. ”While I was treating her, I was reminded of the incident from Friday. In both situations, I knew that the oxygen in the medical kit was helping me to fulfill my mission of saving lives. I often view the oxygen tank as some sort of ‘lifesaver’ in its own right because it is one of the most important tools that I have. When I use it in the field, I can often see my patient’s condition improve before my very eyes. My oxygen tank is incredibly important because, without it, I often wouldn’t be able to help the people that need it the most. ”
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