About a week and a half ago, Ido Benisti collapsed in front of his classmates during the school day. His school principle and Magen David Adom personnel revived him with CPR. His pulse returned and he was immediately transferred to Rambam Hospital in critical condition.
Benisti finally opened his eyes last Friday. "It seems that despite the trauma experienced, the boy recovered quickly," said Dr. Yossi Ben-Ari, Director of Rambam’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), adding, "We are very pleased about that."
While hospitalized, Ido celebrated his sixth birthday today, in the company of his parents and the medical staff. As with all other children in the hospital, Ido was invited to the hospital’s gift room to select for himself a birthday present.
According to his father, Yaniv, the family got to celebrate Ido’s birthday twice "when he opened his eyes last Friday in the ICU, it was actually his Hebrew birthday. Today we celebrate the Gregorian birthday."
"My brother told me that my son was born twice. Once was six years ago and once was again, the very same day, which was a few days ago. We have a double miracle and we are happy to celebrate it with Ido ".
Ido is expected to stay under observation at the hospital for a few more days, and will then be released home. His parents will never forget the circumstances which brought him to the hospital.
"We were lucky there was a responsible adult around, the school principal knew CPR, and MDA came quickly to help and return Ido’s pulse," said his father, "This clearly shows how important it is to keep a defibrillator around largely populated areas. A simple action can save lives. "