On Wednesday evening, a man in his late 50s had just woken up from an afternoon nap. He got up, spoke to his wife in a confused manner, and suddenly collapsed in front of her on the floor. The worried wife tried to revive her husband, and when she was unable to do so she called emergency services for help.
United Hatzalah volunteer EMT Eliya Sha'ar was driving home from work in his car and happened to be on the street just one building away when he received the alert regarding the medical emergency. He quickly pulled over to the side of the road, jumped out of the car, grabbed his medical equipment, and ran up the stairs and into the apartment. He arrived less than a minute after the emergency call had been made.
When he came into the apartment the man’s wife explained what happened and that her husband wasn’t suffering from any pre-existing conditions. Eliya initiated CPR compressions. A minute later he was joined by another United Hatzalah volunteer EMT Aharon Ezra. The pair alternated between performing compressions and providing assisted ventilation.
A few minutes later a mobile intensive care unit arrived and the team attached a heart monitor. The man received three shocks from the heart monitor and his pulse returned.
“The whole thing took five minutes from the time I arrived until we regained the man’s pulse. It was incredible to see that a person who was completely unconscious could come back so quickly,” Eliya recounted.
“I’ve been to a good number of emergencies where CPR was administered and I can’t recall an incident where we managed to bring back a strong and healthy pulse as quickly as we did yesterday. The feeling I had, knowing that I helped save a life was incredible. These instances don’t happen every day. I went home and excitedly told my wife what had happened and she smiled at me, even though I was a bit late. Knowing that I saved a life brought her joy as well. It’s a great way to end the year.”