One mitzvah generates a thousand others – and this is definitely true when it comes to donating to United Hatzalah.

Recently the Bawabeh-Mizrachi families from the United States decided to plan a surprise to their father/father-in-law, Aslan Bawabeh. Aslan was always known from his involvement with Tzedakah and chessed projects, and thus a United Hatzalah ambucycle, dedicated in his honor seemed to be the perfect choice. Little did they know that this chessed project will bear its first, lifesaving fruit on the day of the dedication itself.

Aslan and his wife, Mira Bawabeh arrived to Israel for a bar mitzvah and were brought to United Hatzalah’s headquarters for the surprise dedication ceremony by their son, Soly Bawabeh and son-in-law, Eddie Mizrachi one afternoon. Little did they know, that while they were unsuspectingly touring the organization’s HQ, the ambucycle – also on it’s way to the ceremony – already carried out the first lifesaving mitzvah in their names.

Yisrael Otmazgin, the volunteer driving the ambucycle to the dedication was a bit early and decided to drop by his sister’s place in Jerusalem. He hardly got off the brand new ambucycle when one of the neighbors began to ran towards him, crying for help. According to her frantic cries her father, up in the apartment, was not feeling well and needed urgent assistance.

Yisrael took out his bag and rushed up the stairs to find a man in distress, suffering from chest pains. “I immediately understood that he was having a cardiac event, quickly dialed in to the dispatch and ordered a MICU. After I made sure that help was on its way to get the man to a hospital as soon as possible I gave him an aspirin and put him on oxygen. I waited with the family for 20 minutes, until the ambulance arrived,” tells us Yisrael.

“Before I left though I asked the man’s son to keep me posted about his father’s health. Within 45 minutes my phone rang: “You saved my father’s life,” the voice at the end of the line said. “He was taken straight for catheterization during which he had to be shocked back to twice life.”

By the time Yisrael rolled up in front of the HQ with the Bawabeh ambucycle for the dedication he could tell the donors that their generous gift to the people of Israel has already saved a life, and that life – out of immediate danger – was on his way to a full recovery thanks to them.