Saving A Life In A Kfar Saba Library
On Sunday morning, just after 10:00 a.m., a man in his 60s was browsing through some book in the municipal library of Kfar Saba when he suffered a cardiac arrest and collapsed on the floor. Worried staff members rushed to the man’s aid, and seeing that he was unconscious, called emergency services for help.
United Hatzalah volunteer Avishai Levy, who recently moved from Tiberias to Kfar Saba because of the Coronavirus, had spent a late night out on Saturday night and was taking a late morning. Having just gotten into his car in order to go to work in the nearby town of Herzliya where he works at Microsoft, Avishai’s adrenaline kicked into action when his communications device chirped, alerting him that he was one of the closest responders to the emergency. Wasting no time, Avishai told the dispatcher that he was en route and rushed to the scene.
Avishai arrived at the scene at the same time as an ambulance, which happened to be just a few blocks away from the emergency when it occurred. Together, Avishai and the ambulance crew rushed into the library to find the patient unconscious and without a pulse. The team launched into a full CPR procedure, attaching a defibrillator which administered three shocks, performing compressions, providing assisted breathing, and administering medications.
“What really amazed me was how quickly the man’s pulse returned,” said Avishai. “Most of the time when I am called to perform CPR, it is a lengthy process, but this time, thanks to our quick intervention, the man’s pulse returned after just a few minutes of CPR.”
As onlookers and staff let out an audible sigh of relief, the man was transported to the hospital while sedated and intubated, but in stable condition.
“There is little that can get a person’s adrenaline going as quickly as responding to a medical emergency involving CPR first thing in the morning,” Avishai added. “Doing CPR when one is starting out their day can be difficult because it takes a lot of energy, both mental and physical, and one isn’t always up for that first thing in the day. On the other hand, it really is a great feeling to take with me throughout the rest of the day knowing that I saved a life. That is a truly inspiring feeling.”
