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Israeli Teen MDA Volunteer Saves American Tourist's Life at Yad VaShem

(Ynet News) Roi Yanovsky - An Israeli teenager saved the life of an American tourist who suffered a cardiac arrest at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem. Yam Carmel, 17, who volunteers at Magen David Adom (Israel's emergency ambulance service), was touring the museum with his high school class when he noticed the man collapse, immediately ran to him, and started CPR. "He didn't have a pulse and wasn't breathing, and I started compressions," he said. "For several minutes I did compressions alone in the field." "I asked a passerby to call...and get an ambulance, and sent another one to get a defibrillator. By law, crowded places have to have a defibrillator on the premises. As I understand, he got it from another group of school kids. That passerby connected the defibrillator to the patient while I was compressing. After one round of compressions, the device diagnosed arrhythmia in the heart, which required an electric shock. Following protocol, I checked for a pulse. It returned and then an MDA paramedic team arrived." The tourist was taken to hospital and his life is not in any immediate danger. "I believe that as an MDA volunteer, I have to be prepared for any scenario 24/7. I saw the situation, I'm glad I did what's expected of me as I've been instructed. I'm very happy that it helped and the man lived. It's what makes me happy, I don't see heroism in it. I see it as performing my job well."
2015-09-11 00:00:00
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