child rescued on Sukkot
child rescued on SukkotMDA spokesperson

Elhanan, a toddler under than two years old, nearly drowned last Thursday, the first day of the Sukkot holiday, in a fishing pond near his home.

Neighbors, who discovered him unconscious, rushed to call Magen David Adom and report the incident.

MDA Paramedic Inbal Weberman began instructing the neighbors on how to begin life-saving treatment while MDA teams raced to the scene on MDA scooters in the neighborhood, as well as an ambulance with an intensive care unit.

MDA drivers who live close to the family quickly arrived at the scene and began resuscitation efforts. They were joined by an ambulance team and an intensive care unit headed by paramedic Ana Sherman, who continued to administer advance medical care. The toddler was evacuated in serious condition to Hadassah Medical Center on Mt. Scopus, Jerusalem.

"When we got to the street, we saw the child who was unconscious being treated by MDA drivers, and we immediately put him in an intensive care unit. We gave him medical treatment and within minutes he began to cry," Sherman said. "We evacuated him quickly to the hospital on a respirator, and continued to treat him while his condition was very severe."

At the end of the holiday, the teams were informed that the toddler had regained full consciousness and full functioning. "We found him running in the ward," said the MDA teams which came to visit Elchanan.

Magen David Adom praised the neighbors who rushed to call MDA's 101 call center, reported on the incident and implemented the instructions they received over the phone until the MDA teams arrived.

Yesterday MDA drivers Yosef Roe, Mendy Gruenwald, Yoel Ralfor and Nachman Revivo arrived to visit Elhanan. Elhanan's parents, Rivka and Yosh, thanked them and the other MDA teams who treated and evacuated their son.

Rivka, Elhanan's mother, said: "I saw Elhanan without a pulse and not breathing. A friend of our neighbors, Noam, began to carry out resuscitation efforts. The medical teams who came were really fighting for his life. I went aside and screamed and prayed to heaven, 'Hashem, return my child to me. Restore my child's life. After a few minutes, which felt like an eternity, I suddenly heard my child scream and saw he had started to cry. It was a miracle."

"At the end of the first day of the holiday [which is siimilar to the Sabbath when the use of money is forbidden], my mother immediately donated money to charity and three minutes later the boy opened his eyes. He gradually woke up, and by Friday night he was running around the ward. We are grateful to G-d and to all of his emissaries, to all who helped bring him back to life."

MDA Director-General Eli Bin said, "The paramedics and paramedics acted to save Elhanan's life. I am happy that this incident ended well, and I wish him a speedy recovery. I call upon the public to observe the rules of caution around private pools and water sources. Don't take unnecessary risks, and obey MDA guidelines."