United Hatzalah volunteer EMT Dina Klatis works at the Herzliya Country Club, a large fitness and sports center. One day, prior to the corona pandemic, while working at the club, Dina noticed a woman entering the building while examining her hand as someone would when it hurts. Dina walked over to the woman, explained that she was an EMT, and asked if the woman was alright. The 50-year-old woman told her that she had driven to the club to go swimming, and she slammed the car door on her hand. As Dina examined the woman’s blue and swollen fingers, she realized that the woman had most definitely suffered a fracture.

Dina and Roni on their ambucycle

Dina led the woman over to a chair and told her that she needed treatment. Meanwhile, the woman was starting to experience more pain and murmured “ I’m going to faint”. Dina sprang forward to catch the woman and helped her lie down on the floor. She then elevated the woman’s legs. While still lying on the floor the woman lost consciousness, her pulse dropped so low that it was barely distinguishable. Her condition continued to worsen and she suddenly started to seize.

Dina alerted United Hatzalah dispatch to the incident as she provided on-site intervention. Three minutes later Roni, a fellow United Hatzalah volunteer, arrived. He assisted Dina in administering oxygen and taking the woman’s vital signs. As the patient’s convulsions subsided, the pair of volunteers splinted and bandaged her fingers and then helped transfer her onto the ambulance for evacuation.

Roni and Dina are life partners and they go on emergency calls together all the time. “We love going on calls together, our dates are literally us going on our ambucycle and responding to medical emergencies,” explained Dina.

“Volunteering with Roni in United Hatzalah is the most special thing I can do. If we get a call at 02:00 at night, we will not argue about who will get up first, but we will race to see who will be ready to leave faster. Our quality time together is helping others, and in my opinion, nothing is greater than that”.

“The woman was so grateful,” Dina recalled. “A few days later she came to the club specifically to thank me. She told me that she regularly suffers from low blood pressure and the pain from the fracture caused her blood pressure to drop even lower, which resulted in her fainting and convulsing. I’m just so thankful that I intercepted her before she went into the pool. It would have been far more serious had I not stopped her and she went into the water to go for her swim.”

Dina spoke about the satisfaction of being a volunteer first responder. “United Hatzalah for me is a home that allows me to help others, and be there for them in the most difficult moments”.

Dina spoke about the satisfaction of being a volunteer first responder. “United Hatzalah for me is a home that allows me to help others, and be there for them in the most difficult moments.”

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