When Uriel Reubens, 60, an assistant truck driver, collapsed during a routine trip, the truck driver immediately pulled over and dialed Magen David Adom’s 101 emergency hotline. The EMT dispatcher instructed him on how to perform CPR, while simultaneously dispatching the closest ambulance.
A few moments later, an ambulance headed by EMT Orly Keinan arrived. Her son, Roy Gimpovich, a youth volunteer, was with her. Together, they began to perform resuscitation, connecting the automatic external defibrillator to shock Uriel’s heart into beating again.
Only after they completed the medical treatment and Uriel was evacuated by a Mobile Intensive Care Unit (MICU) ambulance to the hospital, did Orly and Roy realize they knew Uriel, who lives in a nearby moshav. Recently, the mother and son reunited with Uriel at his home.
“During the whole time we were treating you, we did not recognize it was you,” said Orly when they met. “We were so focused on the treatment that we didn’t realize it in real time. To come to your home today and hug you gives us the strength to keep saving lives.”
“I woke up in the hospital after three days and didn’t remember anything,” said Uriel. “Orly was so close and she and Roy brought me back to life. Thanks to them, I am alive today.”
