Avraham Levinger is a United Hatzalah EMT hailing from the city of Beit Shemesh. One afternoon, a few weeks ago, Avraham was taking a break at the school that he teaches in when United Hatzalah’s Dispatch and Command Center identified him as the nearest EMT to a medical emergency occurring nearby. Avraham rushed out of school and jumped on his ambucycle, the same ambucycle his brother once drove, and raced to the given location.

Arriving with two other United Hatzalah EMTs, the team noticed that the address was a building under construction. Working together, the team of volunteers searched the streets on their ambucycles for the correct address. After 30 seconds of searching, Avraham managed to locate the correct building on a blocked street. Avraham alerted his fellow volunteers and the three EMTs headed to the building and ran inside and up the stairs.

Rushing into the given apartment, the three EMTs found an anxious man tending to his grandmother, who was lying still on a bed. After a quick check of the woman’s vital signs, Avraham and the team assessed that the 89-year-old woman was not breathing.

The team immediately grabbed an oxygen tank from Avraham’s bag and administered high flow oxygen along with ventilation. After a few minutes, the team managed to stabilize the woman’s condition as she began breathing normally. The team kept up artificial respirations for half an hour until the ambulance arrived to transport the woman to the nearest hospital.

“I use my oxygen tank very frequently and I must refill or replace it often,” said Avraham. “It is United Hatzalah’s protocol that all volunteers must carry with them a full, or close to full oxygen tank as it is one of the most vital pieces of equipment that we carry as EMTs. I cannot imagine being a first responder and not having one on me at all times. It is a constant necessity and I have saved many lives with it, and that leaves me with a great feeling knowing that I have just helped another person. ”