Shalom Zohar and Yaakov Mizrachi
Exclusive – EMTs Perform Successful CPR and Save The Life Of A Collapsed Kfar Saba Woman
On Wednesday night, United Hatzalah volunteer EMT Shalom Zohar was resting in his home in Kfar Saba, when he received an emergency alert on his communications device, alerting him to a medical emergency occurring two blocks away. Shalom rushed to his ambucycle that was parked outside and headed to the address at top speed. The given address was unclear and Shalom ended up driving up and down the street with no success. Determined to do his job, he continued to drive around before being called over by a passerby. The stranger pointed Shalom to an alleyway just off the street, where he found a body lying on the ground.
A 60-year-old woman was walking home when she suddenly collapsed in the alleyway, unable to move, and slowly lost consciousness. The experienced EMT checked the woman for a pulse, and finding none heHe grabbed his medical bag from his ambucycle, attached a defibrillator, and began compressions. The defibrillator did not advise a shock.
After just one minute, fellow EMT Ya’akov Mizrachi, who is also Shalom’s neighbor and family relative, arrived at the scene along with another EMT named Eyal. Yaakov switched Shalom in performing compressions and the pair continued to alternate compressions as the victim’s hands were turning blue. In the meantime, Eyal had initiated assisted breathing. After a few rounds of compressions, Eyal informed his fellow EMTs that the woman’s pulse had returned and was very strong, so the pair ceased compressions and attached an IV line. Yaakov took the woman’s blood pressure and discovered that it was at dangerously high levels. The team of medical personnel continued assisted breathing and compressions but had to pause every now and then when the woman started agonal breathing. After a couple of minutes, the ambulance arrived.
The paramedic attached a monitor and intubated the patient. The team then performed a capnograph reading on the patient which showed the patient’s CO2 levels as slightly high but in the normal range. The monitor described a malfunction in the woman’s heart, causing her blood pressure to reach high levels and was the reason the EMTs could not find a pulse. The woman was sent to the hospital, and the volunteers later discovered that she had made a full recovery.
“If my colleagues and I had not arrived at the scene on time, the woman would have died,” said Shalom. “It is instances such as these that remind us how important it is to respond to every emergency, no matter how minor it may seem. You never know when you will end up saving a life. This incident was a strong reminder of why I chose to become a volunteer. It reminds me of why I choose to ride my ambucycle every day because I never know when I will arrive on a scene and end up saving someone’s life. It puts life in a different perspective and gives me the strength to carry on volunteering. Saving a life gives me a great deal of satisfaction, and I am proud that I get to participate in this endeavor and help others every day. ”
