This past Saturday, a severe accident occurred when an elderly man lost control of his vehicle. He had been out for a drive with his wife when the accident occurred. The car was sent flying over the barrier wall, landing with a violent thud on its roof. Panicked witnesses immediately dialed the emergency hotline for help.
United Hatzalah volunteer Ohad Hessel who lives in the northern community of Lavon, was right nearby when his United Hatzalah radio buzzed. The devoted volunteer raced to the location on his ambucycle, arriving first on scene just 20 seconds later!
Hessel discovered the injured man bleeding out from a gaping wound in his arm. Realizing that the massive blood loss could quickly turn fatal, the volunteer EMT stemmed the heavy hemorrhaging and tightly bandaged the injury site. After stabilizing the victim, Hessel turned his attention to the man’s panicked wife, who remained stuck in their overturned car. Hessel assisted her in safely exiting the vehicle, providing her with a neck brace for C-spine stabilization. He reassured both husband and wife, completing a thorough assessment as together they waited 10 minutes for the ambulance crew to arrive. The elderly couple were then evacuated to the trauma center for definitive care.
As the Hessel prepared to take his leave, he noticed that his clothes had become thoroughly soaked with blood. His shoes were a “write off” as well, though for Hessel it was a small price to pay. Indeed, were it not for the volunteer’s rapid arrival on your ambucycle, the elderly gentleman would have likely gone into hypovolemic shock and died.
Instead, Hessel made it to the scene within seconds, stopped the bleeding wound and saved the man’s life.
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