Exclusive – Breaking Down Doors and Saving Lives
Breaking Down Doors and Saving Lives – A Day in the Life of A United Hatzalah
Late one evening, Yitzchak Daubel was helping his children get ready for bed when his United Hatzalah radio crackled to life, alerting him to a medical emergency. Seeing that other United Hatzalah volunteers who were closer to the address had already responded to the call, Daubel returned to his children. A moment later his radio again crackled, “Yitzchak – we need your special skills right away!” Daubel, who is quite the handyman and well-known for helping out in difficult situations, didn’t hesitate. His wife nodded in understanding as he donned his helmet, ran outside to his ambucycle, and raced to the address.
Arriving at an apartment building, other volunteers waiting outside quickly informed Daubel that a person was screaming for help from inside her third-story residence. The locked front door was heavily enforced and could not be opened. Daubel immediately ran to the side of the building and began to scale the external walls, climbing up to the third-floor balcony. The balcony entrance was protected by metal security bars, but that didn’t stop the resourceful medic. Familiar with installing these security systems, he simply reversed the process, removed the bars, pushed aside the window shutters and entered the apartment.
The sound of the cries intensified as Daubel entered the apartment, where he found a disoriented 70 year-old woman who had fallen down and suffered many injuries, including a broken arm. Her soiled clothing indicated to the lengthy duration she lay there helplessly. The woman was screaming and quite surprised at seeing Daubel enter. The caring medic explained that he is a first responder and there to help her, and unlocked the front door so other volunteers could gain access also. Speaking softly with her and treating her with dignity during her embarrassing and painful fall, Daubel and the other volunteers carefully splinted her arm and tended to her injuries. Then the other volunteers helped her change her clothes and evacuated her down the stairs to the lobby where an ambulance whisked the woman to the hospital.
Sometime later, Daubel was at a local clinic when he saw the same woman in the waiting room. He decided not to approach her, lest she remember that he had seen her when she was hurt and soiled, which might be embarrassing for her. However, the woman approached him. “Thank you so much for saving me,” she said. “You are my guardian angels, and you protected my privacy and dignity and tended to my injuries.”
(Photo: Yitzcahk Daubel with his ambucycle)
