After suffering cardiac arrest, a Safed man hosted the MAGEN DAVID ADOM team who saved his life for a thanksgiving meal.

Yosef Reiss with his wife and the MAGEN DAVID ADOM team who resuscitated him.

One Thursday morning, 79-year-old Yosef Reiss went to morning prayers at his local synagogue in Safed when he suddenly felt unwell and collapsed during the service. Fellow worshippers knew to call MAGEN DAVID ADOM’s 101 hotline, and an emergency response team was immediately dispatched.

Minutes later, first responder Yehuda Eliav arrived, soon followed by a MICU team staffed by paramedics Daniella Reginsky, Shalev Snoff, and Hussein Halihal. The medics determined that Reiss had suffered a cardiac arrest.

The MAGEN DAVID ADOM team began advanced resuscitation at once while providing an electric shock from a defibrillator. Reiss’s heart began to beat again, but he soon suffered another cardiac arrest.

The devoted MAGEN DAVID ADOM team continued to fight for his life while evacuating Reiss to the hospital. While performing chest massages on Reiss in the ambulance, Reginsky was in communication with the hospital so they would be prepared for Reiss’s arrival and could care for him immediately. Thankfully, he made a full recovery and has returned home to his life and his family.

Reiss wanted to thank the MAGEN DAVID ADOM team who saved his life, so he invited them for a thanksgiving meal together with his family and friends. It was the first time they met since he collapsed.

“I’m so happy to see you alive and well,” said Reginsky at the happy gathering.

“I don’t have the words to describe my gratitude to the Holy One and to you,” Reiss exclaimed to the MAGEN DAVID ADOM medics. “Thank you for coming to this feast and a major thank you for saving me so I can continue to do good deeds for other people.”