An ambulance donated by a Teaneck family a week prior was used to help save the life of a woman who lost consciousness while riding in a car with her daughter and granddaughter.
(Courtesy of United Hatzalah) Just after 8 a.m. on Sunday morning, a 92-year-old woman was riding in a car with her daughter and granddaughter near the train station in Modi’in when she suddenly lost consciousness. Her conscientious daughter and granddaughter pulled the car over and called emergency services for help while attempting to perform CPR on the elderly matriarch in the car.
United Hatzalah volunteer EMT Noemie Dray was at her home in Modi’in when the emergency took place. Noemie was asleep after a late-night shift in the pediatric ward of Sheba Hospital, where she works when she isn’t attending classes. Noemie heard the alert from her emergency communications device, got up, and ran out of the house, without even having time to change clothes.
Noemie jumped into her car and rushed over to the train station, where she found another EMT already taking the woman out of the car and laying her on the ground in order to have a larger space to perform CPR.
“I was in my pajamas but I jumped right in and began to assist the CPR,” Noemie recounted. “I arrived together with the mobile intensive care ambulance and I quickly opened an IV line as the other EMT was performing compressions.”
Another United Hatzalah volunteer EMT, Shlomi Ben Ami, was on his way to work when he received the alert. “I was driving one of United Hatzalah’s new ambulances. This ambulance was donated by a family from Teaneck just last week,” Shlomi said. “I flicked on the lights and sirens and rushed over to the scene of the emergency and joined Noemie and the team in their efforts.”
The combined team continued CPR with compressions, assisted ventilation and administering medication in an effort to revive the matriarch. The team was relentless and refused to give up on the woman, working tirelessly to save her life.
“We worked together as a team, each one of us doing their part to help bring this woman back to her daughter and granddaughter,” Noemie recounted. “After 20 minutes, our effort was rewarded as the woman’s pulse was restored and she was stabilized enough to be transported to the hospital.”
Noemie concluded by saying, “It is invigorating to wake up and save a life. Even if it means I’ll be tired the rest of the day. Knowing that I helped this woman have another chance at life, another chance at spending more time with her family, this is what I am here to do. This is why I became a volunteer—so that I could help others and save lives—and I am very proud that I was able to do that today.”
Shlomi added, “I am so thankful that I had the newly donated ambulance with me. Without it, I would not have been able to reach the scene of the emergency on time and be able to help. This ambulance is only one week old and already it is helping me and many others save lives throughout the area. My thanks go to our partners, the people who donated this lifesaving vehicle. Your help and donation made a difference today.”
