EMT dispatcher Aharon Cohen first talked the father through the delivery by phone while the Mobile Intensive Care Unit was en route. The team, Dr. Rosen, EMTs Vladislav Priadko and Yuval Peleg, arrived moments later, took over, and delivered a healthy baby boy at home.
Then Red Alert sirens hit across central Israel. When the baby was just minutes old, the entire group, the MAGEN DAVID ADOM team and the new parents, immediately ran to a shelter, the newborn in Dr. Rosen’s capable arms.
“In an instant, I found myself running with the infant in the street wearing a ballistic vest and helmet to get him to a shelter. And in the very next moment, once it was safe, I handed him straight to his father. It was important to me that he feel this is his son, that he is the one protecting him, not a stranger. I wanted to make sure that they experienced this moment as parents, that they hold the baby, cut the umbilical cord, and begin to bond with him,” shared Dr. Rosen. “This is not a simple reality, but there are also moments of light.”
The parents, Violet and Nikola, said the medics helped them stay calm and handled everything with skill. “This isn’t the ideal experience,” the new parents reflected, “but we’re happy everything ended safely and we’re grateful to the team who helped us so much.”