Magen David Adom (Emergency Medical Center) was first built forty years ago when Arad was born. Then, a small structure in the middle of the new desert town, was struggling to ensure the well-being of the pioneers. Now, 40 years later, the long overdue renovations are finally complete. Thanks to the generous contribution of the Middlesex Federation, the building and the surrounding landscape, are beautiful!! The renovations include an entirely new entrance, new driveways for the ambulances, beautiful tile floors for the entire building, tiled walls, lush floral landscapes surrounding the structure and much, much more.

Now that the new building is complete, we should look into the souls of the angels of the Magen David Adom.

A sixty-hour course somewhere in northern Israel, a thick handbook and considerable altruism – that’s what you need to be a Magen David Adom volunteer. Many young people have been attracted to the experience recently. It’s not just the adrenalin rush, but also the feeling that you can make a difference and save lives. Shlomi Herzberg boarded the ambulance and heard about the volunteers’ experiences, traumas and – most of all – their sense of satisfaction.

Pulsebeat
By Shlomi Herzberg

"I was always interested in medicine. I first came to Magen David Adom (MDA) through the Personal Commitment Project, in which you choose a place to perform volunteer work. It was really exciting to hear that MDA was one of the options," says Luba Golbiczer, 16, who's been an MDA volunteer for over a year. "When they told me I'd passed the course, it was like a dream come true. I jumped for joy."

Over 70 youngsters opted for a wearying, and intensive course in which they learned to administer CPR (using dummies), rescue people from vehicles after serious traffic accidents and brace themselves for the worst scenarios of all. They realize that MDA work is different from all other kinds of volunteer activity. "It's no easy job," says Station Director Lahat Maayan. "It demands considerable responsibility. The harsh scenes you witness here have a maturing effect, but they also train people for life, ready them for advancement in the IDF and instill much self-confidence. Volunteers are a great help to our regular field staff and get to see many kinds of incidents, including some very severe ones. Last week, for example, there was a head-on collision on the Aroer Highway. One of the drivers was killed instantly. The sight of a mangled, eyeless body torn to pieces seriously traumatized the volunteer who arrived on the scene."

Inbal Peles, 16½, has been an MDA volunteer for two years, having been recruited by her sister, who'd been volunteering there for three years. Their volunteer spirit originates with their father, an MDA staff member.

Ohad Elharar, also 16½, also came to MDA after hearing about it from friends and has been working there for about a year.

One of you suffered a trauma. That's an awful experience...

"I remember an incident in which there was an unconscious 40-year-old woman who had no pulse and was not breathing when we got to her. CPR didn't work very well, but what was most distressing was that her young children saw it all. That was not a pleasant sight at all."

Ohad: "I and a friend of mine, an epileptic, were at a party and he drank too much. Within a few minutes, he had a seizure and collapsed. I panicked at first, but I got over it quickly and helped him."

Luba: "I panicked only at my first CPR attempt. I was very frightened, but I learned the technique on the job and got right into the swing of things."

Did any of you ever actually save someone's life?

Ohad: "Of course. Half a year ago, I joined a rescue unit to find a motorcyclist who apparently got lost in the Judean Desert. He was unconscious when we found him. That was my first CPR."

Inbal: My first CPR was a year and a half ago when they summoned me to the scene of an accident between a bus and a truck. I managed to save one of the passengers and it gave me a great sense of satisfaction.

Luba: A month ago, I performed CPR on a man of 82 who was on the brink of clinical death. I succeeded in saving him. That made my day.

And what happens when CPR is unsuccessful? Is there a feeling of failure, of disappointment?

Inbal: “It doesn’t feel too good when you fail to save someone’s life. The truth is that they prepared us well, letting us know that life is not always a bed of roses.”

Ohad: “It’s important to remember that you did everything you could. We can’t be magicians.”

Luba: “The trick is to stay on guard and not let your emotions get the best of you. What’s more, no matter how indifferent this may sound, such things have already become part of our routine.”

Isn’t it a little too much for you?

Luba: “There are some difficult cases, but we realize that there’s no choice. I can only aspire towards success, no more than that.”

How would you go about recruiting more young people to volunteer at MDA?

Inbal: “We’d go from class to class explaining what we do, talking about all our experiences and the esprit de corps among volunteers.

Ohad: “There are things here you don’t see every day. It’s certainly worth the experience.”

Luba: “I think MDA volunteer work is a wonderful start for people interested in the world of medicine.”

Tevet 5764 - January 2004