MDA israel

"I’ve performed CPR countless times over my 45 years with MDA, but this is one response I will never, ever forget."

It began as an ordinary Saturday morning in Tzur Hadassah. Five-year-old Yael Etrog had joined her father, Omer, for Shabbat morning prayers at their local synagogue. Sitting in the sanctuary, Yael was sucking on a piece of candy when she suddenly began to cough violently.

Omer rushed to help his daughter, realizing with sudden dread that the candy was completely blocking her airway. As panic set in, congregants immediately dialed MDA’s National Emergency Dispatch Center.

MDA dispatches scrambled rapid-response first responders and a Mobile Intensive Care Unit (MICU) to the scene. But Yael’s condition was deteriorating by the second. Struggling for air, her lips and face began turning blue.

Eyal Melamed, a veteran MDA EMT attending the service, sprang into action. He immediately initiated the Heimlich maneuver, applying firm abdominal thrusts to dislodge the obstruction.

"Unfortunately, the Heimlich wasn't working, and Yael collapsed," Eyal recalled. "Her heart stopped beating, and I immediately started CPR. I’ve been volunteering with Magen David Adom for 45 years, but looking down at that little girl, I knew everything was on the line."