At around 2:30 a.m. on Monday morning, a 92-year-old man fell unconscious in his bedroom on Ha-Etsel street in Ashdod. His son heard the loud “boom” and ran over to see what happened. As soon as he saw his father lying on the floor he called United Hatzalah to send help. He performed CPR as instructed by the dispatcher on the phone while he waited for the trained EMTs to arrive and take over.
Three United Hatzalah volunteer EMTs, all of whom were in different places at the time of the incident, received the alert and responded in order to try to save the life of the unconscious man.
Eliyahu Lavi was sitting at the gas station with some of his friends having snacks and a hot drink to wrap up the day. Both Dor Friedman and Issac Rotner were in their separate homes about to go to sleep.
Dor arrived around three minutes after receiving the call and ran up the stairs to the apartment. The man’s son opened the door and directed him towards his father’s bedroom while explaining to Dor what had happened.
Dor checked the man for vital signs and found that he was still breathless and without a pulse. The EMT pulled on a pair of sterile gloves and reported to the dispatch center that he will be starting resuscitation. No more than a minute later the two other EMTs, Eliyahu and Issac, arrived at the scene along with an intensive care ambulance and its team of EMTs and paramedics.
“In emergencies such as this one, where there are enough EMTs and paramedics taking control of the situation, I usually like to take a step back so as not to get in the way and do more bad than good,” said Eliyahu, “When necessary, I’ll help the paramedics or swap out the tired EMTs and perform CPR. I will sometimes collect the garbage by the scene and keep everything tidy so it will be easier for the medics. The job of an EMT in an emergency isn’t limited to directly treating the patient, we need to know when to assist and when enough people assisting then to do other helpful jobs that will facilitate easier and faster treatment at the scene.”
Together the team performed the resuscitation operations that include chest compressions and administering medications through an IV. After about half an hour of this process, they succeeded in bringing the man’s pulse back and stabilizing him enough to be transported to the hospital in critical but stable condition.
“I am so relieved that we succeeded in stabilizing the man’s condition,” said Dor, “I hope he recovers fully and quickly in the hospital. Saving a life in the early morning is the greatest way to start the day.”
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