22 August 15 • 2019 jn Persistence Pays Off Southfi eld teen helps save an elderly Israeli man’ s life. P erhaps Jaden Jubas, 16, of Southfield should skip studying for his college entrance exams and just apply to medical school. On July 16, while attending a camp- ing program in Israel sponsored by NCSY Hatzalah Rescue, he and another camper, with the guidance of the ambu- lance team they were shadowing, saved the life of an 80-year-old patient. The man was initially unresponsive to CPR by United Hatzalah ambucycle responders after trying to revive and stabilize him for nearly an hour. On that fateful afternoon, the teens’ ambulance was dispatched to a call for a semi-responsive patient. While the ambulance was on its way, the call was upgraded to a “ CPR in progress. ” Upon arrival, Jaden’ s team walked up a flight of narrow stairs to find that two additional EMT teams from United Hatzalah and Magen David Adom had been working to try to revive the elder- ly man on the bedroom floor of his tiny apartment. The bedroom and apart- ment overflowed with about 20 tearful relatives resigned to the fact their loved one had died. But Jubas and fellow camper Ben- jamin Mendelson, 17, of Memphis, Tenn., were determined and pleaded with their EMT supervisors to keep trying. First, Benjamin performed compressions and was able to revive the man’ s pulse, but the patient once again flatlined. Amid the tears of rela- tives, Jubas insisted he would try again. After 90 seconds of performing CPR, the patient regained a steadier pulse and breathed once again. Jubas said everyone in the tiny apartment was overjoyed and the boys received shouts of “Kol HaKavod” praising them for saving the man’ s life. In addition to administering CPR, Jaden and Benjamin also helped the EMT team with running an intrave- nous line, assisted with oxygen tanks and helped transport the patient, hooked to many wires and life-saving machines, down the narrow flight of stairs to the ambulance. Jaden said he and Benjamin kept their cool thanks to expert guidance from their supervisors who guided them through the grueling work of manually applying compressions to the patient’ s heart. Jubas said he hopes to continue his training to become an EMT by the time he reaches 18. The high schoolers were awarded medals celebrating their first “ saves” as Emergency Medical Responders (EMR). On the medal is a quote from the Talmud: “He who saves a life it is as if they saved a whole world. ” The volunteer work was part of Jubas’ summer program with a United Hatzalah ambulance crew in Bat Yam, a city on Israel’ s central coast. NCSY Hatzalah Rescue is a month-long program run in partnership with the Orthodox Union’ s NCSY Summer and United Hatzalah, a volunteer-based emergency medical services organiza- tion in Israel. The program includes training teens as EMRs and volunteer- ing with ambulance crews in Israel. “ Our summer program is new and to have Jaden be one of the first to save a life” is just incredible, said Cari Immerman, regional director for Friends of United Hatzalah of Israel. “ God used Jaden as messenger to help save a man’ s life, ” said Jubas’ moth- er, Yehudit. “I am incredibly proud of Jaden’ s maturity and determination. ” On other runs as an EMR in Israel, he helped treat people with minor lacerations or those “ not feeling well” in the hot Israeli sun. Whenever the ambulance arrived, Jubas noticed how grateful people were to see him and the EMT team he was shadowing. “We treated a police officer with a large cut on his leg and some others who were not feeling well, ” Jubas said. “Just seeing our ambulance show up is enough sometimes to calm people down and give them comfort. ” Jubas, who is just beginning the col- lege application process as a rising high school junior at Farber Hebrew Day School in Southfield, has always been interested in the medical field. He said this experience has given him encour- agement and a confidence boost. “I was grateful for the opportunity to save the life of a person, ” said Jubas, who returned home Aug. 2 and plans to hang out with friends and gearing up for school. “I was determined not to give up even though the EMTs were ready to call the man’ s death. I was taught in my EMR training that the success rate for fully reviving a patient through CPR is only at 10 percent. “Thanks to this program, I know what I am capable of accomplishing. I hope my actions will inspire others to be brave and do good in the world. One person can truly make a difference in someone’ s life. ” ■ jews d in the STACY GITTLEMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER Jaden Jubas of Southfield, left, and Benjamin Mendelson of Memphis helped save a man’ s life. COURTESY JADEN JUBAS Detroit Jews for Justice Hosts Inaugural Wolfgang Awards On Thursday, Sept. 19, from 6-9 p.m., Detroit Jews for Justice will host its first ever fundraising gala, the Myra Wolfgang Awards. Named for a pioneering Jewish labor organizer, the awards are being established to honor those who have shown principled tenacity in pursuit of justice. The event will feature a dinner catered by Guerilla Food Detroit, a silent auction featuring dozens of local small businesses and organizations, remarks by honorees and more. This year’ s honorees are Selma Goode and Sylvia Orduño. Goode has organized students, mothers, grocery workers and fellow Democratic Socialists. Orduño has deep roots as an anti- poverty advocate and organizer for water, housing and environmental justice. The awards event will also celebrate the legacy of Myra Wolfgang. The Jewish Historical Society of Michigan (JHSM) describes Wolfgang as one of the nation’ s first woman union organizers. A child of Eastern European immigrants, Wolfgang was training at art school during the Great Depression when she had to turn to labor organizing out of necessity. Wolfgang played critical roles in the Woolworth’ s strike, in several organizing drives throughout Detroit’ s service industries and eventually Michigan’ s first minimum wage law. Throughout her career in the labor movement, Wolfgang held positions such as secretary of the Detroit Local 705 of the Waiters and Waitresses Union and international vice president of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union. Tickets are now available at detroitjewsforjustice.org/wolfgang.