Two months ago, 15-year-old Mia Shapiro Starlin completed Magen David Adom’s first-aid providers course and became a member of its youth volunteer corps.
While shopping recently, she heard calls for help and ran out to the street to find a man lying unconscious on the ground. He wasn’t breathing and had no pulse. A passerby called 101 and, while MDA was dispatching a Mobile Intensive Care Unit ambulance, the EMT on the phone instructed the citizen on how to perform CPR. Meanwhile, another bystander retrieved a defibrillator MDA installed nearby.
Mia identified herself as an MDA volunteer and took charge of the CPR and initiated the electric shock treatments. When the ambulance team arrived, together they fought for his life. “When his heart started beating, I was really excited,” said Mia. “I realized I saved a life.”
Shmuel Levy, 79, was evacuated to the hospital, where he made a full recovery. On Monday, he and Mia were reunited at his home.
and ended up stealing his heart.
“I am very glad I acted professionally and quickly in the field, even though I am new to MDA,” Mia said. “I hope now more people will understand the importance of learning CPR and placing defibrillators in public areas.”
Mia is one of 12,000 teenage first-aid providers who constitute more than a third of MDA’s volunteer staff. Donations from Americans make training Israel’s youth and installing portable defibrillators in public spaces possible, helping MDA save more lives each year.
