IsraelSeen – Losing a Pizza on the Way Home
Avishai Maor of Rishon LeZion, a veteran emergency responder with United Hatzalah was heading home from his high-tech job when he decided to treat his family to pizza for dinner. He let his wife know and proceeded to the pizza shop. Just as he paid, his United Hatzalah communications device crackled <<Male, cardiac arrest>>. The address was just 2 blocks away and he immediately radioed back “I’m on the way”. Shoving the hot pie into your ambucycle’s compartment, the medic raced to the address in less than a minute and began CPR on the pulseless man. Other medics arrived as well as an ambulance crew and fought vigorously to save the man’s life. Unfortunately, their heroic efforts were unsuccessful and the paramedic had no choice but to declare cessation of lifesaving efforts.
Avishai continued on his way home with his now lukewarm pizza. En route, he suddenly noticed a car accident up ahead. The EMT flicked on your ambucycle’s lights and siren as he pulled out from his lane. In just 60 seconds, he had whizzed past the built-up traffic to reach the two-car rear end collision. Fortunately, there were no serious injuries but a visibly pregnant woman sat in the front car shaking and crying uncontrollably. Avishai removed his medical kit (overturning the pizza in the process) and approached the vehicle. He gently asked the woman what hurt her. Between sobs, she told the medic that she had strong pains in her lower abdomen and could not feel her baby moving. Her hysterical and outraged husband was meanwhile threatening the driver of the car who had hit them. The verbal onslaught was too much for the guilt-ridden driver and he too burst into tears.
Avishai swiftly took the woman’s vital signs, reassuring her as much as possible under the circumstances. The woman was taking rapid and shallow breaths and her blood oxygen level was low. In addition, her heartbeat was fast yet weak. The caring medic spoke gently to her, guiding her through breathing relaxation techniques. Avishai also explained that stress can temporarily cause fetal movements to cease or become unnoticeable, and therefore it is quite likely that her baby was actually unharmed. The volunteer’s efforts paid off and the woman slowly began calming down and her vital signs normalized.
The husband, seeing his wife regaining her composure, also calmed down as did the driver of the offending vehicle. Eventually, the woman began feeling her baby’s movements and realized that the situation was not as she had initially feared. Avishai stayed on scene, monitoring the woman’s condition and giving critical emotional support to the couple as they waited for the ambulance. When it did arrive, a full 25 minutes after Avishai’s appearance on scene, he briefed the crew and the woman was rushed to the hospital for a full examination.
When Avishai finally reached home, an hour and a quarter late, he removed the now cold, dirtied and crushed pizza and promptly threw it in the garbage, to the great disappointment of his kids. He helped his wife whip up a quick dinner and they all sat down to eat. In the middle of the meal when his communications device crackled again, his kids looked at him with wide eyes as if to say, “Abba again?” Fortunately the call was not in his immediate area and closer volunteers responded to the emergency. His wife and children breathed a sigh of relief and they were able to finish their meal together.
