By Deena Hornstein
Netanel Samoh is an incredibly giving individual. He is dedicated to his city and community in Be’er Sheva. He works at the Youth-at-Risk division of the Jewish Agency, does pet therapy with young children, and is a soccer referee for a local league which enables him to interact with the city’s youth in a friendly and fun environment. Netanel’s natural impulse to help others motivated him to take an EMT training course and he eventually became a United Hatzalah Volunteer and is now one of Be’er Sheva’s busiest EMTs.
One of Netanels recent calls occurred in the early evening when a woman in Be’er Sheva called the dispatch center in a panic, saying that she was unable to revive her husband, and said that he had been asleep for nearly twenty-four hours. Netanel was at home with his family and was giving his kids a bath when he received the urgent alert from United Hatzalah’s dispatch center. Without wasting a moment, Netanel called his wife to watch their children and ran outside to his ambucycle. He rushed to the scene and arrived at the address in just 60 seconds.
Netanel hopped off his ambucycle, dashed inside, and discovered a 78-year-old diabetes patient lying in bed. The man was unresponsive. Netanel hastily took the patient’s vitals and confirmed that the patient’s blood glucose levels had dropped to dangerously low levels. Without hesitating Netanel quickly administered glucogel and reassured the patient’s wife as he continued to monitor her husband’s vitals.
The elderly man slowly started responding to the treatment and kept slipping in and out of consciousness. By the time the ambulance crew had arrived, the elderly man had regained full consciousness and his blood sugar levels had been stabilized. Netanel helped carry him onto the ambulance and the man was transported to the hospital for further observation and care.
“After leaving the elderly couple’s house I left with a feeling of fulfillment,” said Netanel. “The patient’s life was solely in my hands. Thanks to the training I had received and the equipment I had with me, I was able to save his life. Knowing that I helped save another person is a truly great feeling”
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