On Monday night, at 8:15 p.m., United Hatzalah volunteer EMT Daniel Ashosh was managing his store in Alta shopping center in Ashdod when he suddenly heard shouting coming from outside. As the Alta shopping center is a busy and bustling area, Daniel continued working thinking that the noise was part of the regular humdrum. Then, all of a sudden, a worker of his came rushing through the door. The employee, aware that Daniel is a United Hatzalah EMT, alerted him of a child right outside the store who was choking. Daniel rushed out of his store and found a frantic mother holding her 3-year-old girl, whose face was blue.
“I was taken aback when I saw how blue the child’s face was, indicating the seriousness of the emergency, but I was not surprised,” said Daniel. “My employee, the boy who alerted me of the situation, is the son of another United Hatzalah volunteer who used to live here in Ashdod. His father and I were good friends, but unfortunately, two years ago, he passed away. The look on the boy’s face when he alerted me of the choking child alerted me to just how serious this situation was, so I ran out as fast as I could.”
The child’s airway was completely blocked by a foreign object, causing the young girl to stop breathing and turn blue. Daniel immediately took the child from her mother’s arms and performed Heimlich on the little girl, in an attempt to dislodge the blockage.
After a minute of performing the Heimlich maneuver in an appropriate manner for young children, the child spit out the object that was obstructing her airway. A small round-shaped candy was expelled from the child’s mouth. Soon enough, the 3-year-old’s face lost its blue tint as she began breathing on her own.
The mother thanked Daniel profusely for saving her daughter’s life. If Daniel weren’t so close, the child could have stopped breathing completely. Daniel then made sure the child was stable and in good condition before the family drove home. Daniel then went to thank his young employee for commending him for what he did.
“In instances where a child or infant is suffering from an airway obstruction, time is of the essence,” Daniel added. “There were many contributing factors in this story. My location, my employee, and the mother and her child being where they were. Each of these played a role in ensuring that the little girl is still with us today. This was definitely an instance of God making sure that everyone was in the right place for a miracle to happen and for this young girl’s life to be saved.”
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