You may not have seen this story in the media, but it meant the world to a family in Israel.
Two months ago, a single father, Gilad Marsa, was home with his three children, enjoying the Sabbath. He started feeling pain and weakness.
10-year-old Yarin, his eldest son, instinctively felt that his father’s condition was serious and he quickly dialed 101 — the MAGEN DAVID ADOM emergency hotline number.
Yarin described his father’s symptoms to the paramedic who took his call and an ambulance was immediately dispatched.
When the first responders arrived minutes later, Yarin signaled to them from the window and then let them into the apartment.
He led them back to a bedroom where the paramedics found Gilad unconscious.
“We performed medical examinations,” paramedic Hillel Yonatan Kulodanko said, “during which he collapsed and suffered cardiac arrest. We immediately began performing CPR, which included electric shocks from the defibrillator.”
“We performed prolonged CPR for about 10 minutes,” said MDA paramedic Chaim Levin, “until Gilad’s heart began beating again and he came back to life.”
They quickly loaded him into the ambulance, evacuated him to Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon, in serious but stable condition.
“I’m extremely grateful to the MAGEN DAVID ADOM paramedics and the doctors in the hospital who saved my life,” Gilad told a local television reporter after he was released from the hospital in good health.
When asked about his quick-thinking son, Gilad said, “I have no words to describe how proud I am of my son for his behavior, which saved my life.”
“His behavior and levelheadedness can’t be taken for granted. I don’t want to think where I would be today, as a single father, without his maturity and responsibility.”
THANK GOD. . .
that a 10-year-old boy had the presence of mind to call MAGEN DAVID ADOM.
THANK GOD. . .
that the best possible person answered the call — a highly-trained paramedic — who knew instantly what to do to save Gilad’s life.
THANK GOD. . .
that dedicated first responders arrived on the scene within minutes aboard a fully-equipped state-of-the-art Mobile Intensive Care Unit (MICU) ambulance.
THANK GOD. . .
that the people of Israel have Christian friends like you — who care enough to support Israel’s Red Cross organization, MAGEN DAVID ADOM.
“This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people, but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.”
2 Corinthians 9:12
Your compassion and generosity saves lives in Israel. Sometimes even those who die are brought back to life. How can the Marsa family ever thank you?
Your donation of any amount means that when a young boy’s father has a heart attack and calls to get help, that MAGEN DAVID ADOM’s first responders can be there within minutes and they will do everything possible to make sure that the boy’s father comes home, safe and sound.
