Commentary
The Power Of Connection Amid Turmoil
I Matthew Gold
B
EEEEEEP." The busy station fell
silent. Then I heard my ambu-
lance called; it was time to go
save lives. The adrenaline kicked in.
My friend Leora and I rushed from
the room accompanied with calls of
good luck and jealousy from our other
fellow volunteers. We raced to the
ambulance. Our driver was already
there, starting the engine. The call was
to Bnei Brak, close to our station in
Ramat Gan. The siren began to wail, and
we started driving against traffic to our
scene. I got goosebumps as I remem-
bered my training and ran a list in my
head. Gloves? Check. Ambu bag? Check.
Oxygen? Check.
We began to slow down, and the driv-
er looked back to us, grunting in broken
English that it was back pain for an old
lady. Typical call for a typical day, or so
I thought. The old woman lived on the
fourth floor of an apartment complex
that didn't have an elevator. Coming up
the stairs, we could hear screaming.
The landlord was standing at the
doorway, looking stressed toward the
woman sitting on her bed, at the side of
the dingy apartment. She was clutching
her hip screaming in a foreign language.
We walked in and the driver started
talking to the woman before assigning
us to do anything. Confusion appeared
on the woman's face, heightening her
fear and therefore her screaming. He
tried English; again, more confusion. It
was obvious that this was going to be
difficult.
I grabbed the bottom of the chair in
front of her, hands to my side grabbing
the handles. "Hands on your stomach!"
my driver shouted over her in Russian,
the only phrase he knew as we began
our descent.
After much screaming in Hebrew,
English and Russian from all parties, we
finally got her into the ambulance. Leora
and I were sitting in the back, not know-
ing what to do with ourselves.
The woman was looking right at me,
muttering in rapid Russian through her
tears. "It's OK," I said in both English
and Hebrew. I looked at Leora, helpless-
ness in both of our faces.
What can I do? The woman clutched
for my gloved hand and I grabbed hers
with both of mine. This poor woman is
scared and alone, and there's nothing I
can say or do to make her feel better.
Inspiration struck me.
Removing myself gently from her
grasp, I quickly grabbed my phone and
selected the app that has helped me in
Israel, a translator. "Everything will be
Discovering
The Fragility
Of Life,
Up Close
Daniel Gold
I
AMERICAN FRIENDS OF
MAGEN DAVID ADOM
Pkoatted,
tee -thyReek
et
In Honor of
arah Baruch,
dler, Eden Adler, Adam Awerbuch, Adam B
n Chomsky,
s Beals, Rina Bergman, Marissa Ceresnis r
, Geula Finman,
rydoy, Michael Diskin, Jacob Diskin, Yz
Cr, ophia Garfinkel,
-id Michael Flood, Fallon Garfield-
erg, Daniel Gold, Matthew Gold, Mi ael Goldstein, Erin Goode,
ild
Rachel Goodman, Scott Haber, Adam Horwitz
State of Michigan MDA Volunteers
2007-2013
Daniel and Matthew Gold with the Magen David Adorn ambulance donated to the
Israeli people by Michigan supporters in honor of the 48 local young adults who
have been MDA summer volunteers from 2007 to 2013.
Emergency Response
T
win brothers Matthew and
Daniel Gold, sons of Dr. Linda
Stein Gold and Kenneth Gold
of Bloomfield Hills, spent part of their
summer volunteering with Magen David
Adorn, Israel's emergency medical,
ambulance and disaster relief agency.
MDA also provides the nation's blood
supply, including 100 percent for the
Israel Defense Forces.
The Gold brothers described the
experience as transformative.
At the American Friends of Ml/Vs
Dr. John J. Mames Chapter-Michigan
Region annual dinner held Sept. 22
at Congregation Shaarey Zedek in
Southfield, the University of Michigan
juniors, along with four other college
students, spoke passionately about their
service.
The chapter dedicated an ambulance
in honor of the 48 local young adults
who have spent recent summers volun-
teering for MDA. The ambulance will
be posted in Michigan Jewry's partner
region in Israel's Central Galilee as will a
mobile intensive care unit newly donated
by Detroiters Alvin and Henrietta
Weisberg.
MDA is government mandated to pro-
vide these services for Israel's 8 million
residents, but relies primarily on fees for
services and donors worldwide to sup-
port its operations.
For information on summer volun-
teer opportunities and how to give to
lifesaving MDA work, contact American
Friends of Magen David Adorn regional
director Can Immerman at (877) 405-
3913 or CImmerman@afmda.org .
OK," I typed and hit translate. I held
the phone up to her wrinkly face, and
she concentrated on the characters of
her motherland. Fear turned to relief.
She winked at me and blew me a kiss.
I smiled and she continued to babble
in rapid Russian, this time a little more
calm.
Magen David Adorn is the greatest
experience I have ever been a part of.
My MDA pride has become a part of me
that I will never let go. Living in Israel
as a local, with a purpose, has truly
changed my life. Still today, I look for
situations in which I might be able to
help.
I have been on many teen trips, both
to Israel and throughout the U.S., but
nothing can even compare to my time
with MDA.
Thank you for allowing me to share
one memory of hundreds that I will
always keep with me to medical school
and beyond.
❑
— Robert Sklar, contributing editor
t was 3 a.m. I had chosen the
night shift on the natan [mobile
intensive care unit] because I
knew that staffing was low, and there
was a good chance that I would be
needed. I was dozing off to sleep
when I heard a beep.
That was me.
I jumped up so fast that I dropped
my laptop and shattered the screen;
can't worry about that now, I
thought. I knew that something
bad had happened and I wondered,
"What could it possibly be?"
In the ambulance, my paramedic
turned to me and said the three let-
ters that I will never forget: "CPR." I
froze. We were trained to help in this
situation, but now it was real. I felt
excited, but very scared.
We were called to the home of an
86-year-old man who had no pulse.
He was older, but otherwise healthy.
I admired how my team worked in a
calm, rapid way to attempt to revive
him. During the two-hour process,
my team looked to me to participate
as an active member. I gave com-
pressions (which was exhausting),
gave rescue breaths and checked
blood pressure.
At one point, we were able to
restart his pulse, but just for a brief
time. We were unable to stabilize
it. It was at this point I realized just
how fragile life is.
Those six weeks have changed
me. I have greater self-confidence. I
am much more responsible. I had to
anticipate the needs of paramedics
and patients.
I had to know which equipment
to grab and what to do based on the
symptoms that I saw. I had to hold
the hands of patients and talk to
them with my basic Hebrew to com-
fort them.
I have grown a larger love for
medicine as a whole and feel pre-
pared to use my learned skills
anywhere, anytime. I hope to bring
these attributes to my future job,
family and community. It was an
honor and a privilege to volunteer
with MDA.
❑
❑
JN
October 24 • 2013
31