"I will never forget the image of my daughter choking before my very eyes.”
This statement was made recently by Yisrael Amar, a United Hatzalah volunteer who decided to become a volunteer EMT and first responder after his grandmother was saved by United Hatzalah paramedics recently when she suddenly collapsed.
“I began the training course to become an EMT, and approximately two weeks after we learned how to treat a choking victim, I myself then experienced something which I will never forget,” Yisrael said.
“My own daughter, Tohar, who was only two years old at the time, choked on a piece of plastic. She turned blue and lost consciousness because she could not breathe. Within seconds I performed the maneuvers we learned in the course and I succeeded at dislodging the piece of plastic from her windpipe. She began to breathe once again and she slowly regained consciousness. I saved my own daughter’s life. I continued with the training and after seven months of intensive work I was certified as an EMT.”
Today, Amar volunteers as an EMT on the streets of Rehovot and the surrounding area.
“I have saved lives on many occasions. It is a tremendous feeling, one which I cannot fully explain. But even before I went out to save others, I believe that I received some divine inspiration to take this training course, because it was due to the knowledge which I gained there that I was able to save my daughter who is more valuable to me than anything else.”