In most cases of cardiac arrest and the initiation of CPR, the patients do not survive, and even when they do, they often take some time to regain full consciousness. But last Monday morning around 7:30, in the town of Tel Mond, when a man in his 50s began to feel severe chest pains while he was out running, he ran home, called emergency services for help, and the United Hatzalah dispatch sent him volunteer EMT Shlomi Lifshitz who lived only a couple of blocks away.
Lifshitz was at home preparing his child for day camp when he received the alert. He took off right away and when he arrived, the man was lying down but conscious.
“When I arrived at the man’s home he told me that he took 200 mg of aspirin and chewed them and then took another 100 mg and swallowed it,” Shlomi said. “This was a very good move since the EMT protocol for treating a patient with chest pain is to give them 300 mg of aspirin and have the patient chew it before swallowing. He told me that the pain had subsided somewhat and was completely aware of his surroundings.”
As the two were talking the man suddenly began to complain of severe dizziness and his eyes rolled back in his head. “His breathing became very erratic and his entire body spasmed,” Lifshitz recalled. “The patient I was talking with a moment before was now completely unresponsive, not to verbal stimulation, nor pain, it was terrifying.”
With the help of the man’s friend who heard the commotion, Lifshitz gently but quickly lowered the man off the bed and onto the floor and began to perform CPR.
“I began chest compressions and asked the friend to take out and prepare the defibrillator that I had brought with me”, Shlomi recalled. “Once that was done, I had the friend switch with me and take over compressions and I applied the defibrillator pads. The defibrillator advised a shock, I delivered one and the man’s body jumped.”
“Right after I administered the shock, the man woke up and regained full consciousness,” Lifshitz said. “The man was a bit confused as to what was happening but recalled why we were there. After the mobile intensive care ambulance had shown up, they attached a heart monitor and did a full workup of the man’s condition. He was then transported to the hospital with what appeared to be a myocardial infarction in his heart. This condition is survivable but only if the person receives immediate intervention as happened today. I am thankful that I was there to help save this man’s life, it filled me with joy for the rest of the day, and I wish him a full recovery.”
Tel Mond was founded in June 1929 by Alfred Mond, the First Baron Melchett. Lord Melchett was a British industrialist, cabinet minister and president of the British Zionist Foundation. The Palestine Plantations Company headed by Lord Mond purchased land in the Sharon area and planted citrus orchards to provide employment for Jewish laborers. In 1933, a group of farmers purchased land from the company and established moshav Tel Mond. In 1936, another group established moshav Kfar Ziv, named after Baron Sieff who followed Lord Melchett and settled in Tel Mond with his wife. In 1943, new immigrants from Yemen established Shechunat Ya’akov. The surrounding moshavim, Kfar Hess, Herut and Ein Vered, were also founded by the pioneers of Tel Mond.
