MDA israel

Libby, 36 years old, was preparing for an evening out when she suddenly collapsed at home. Her husband Alex immediately called Magen David Adom's 101 emergency number, where he spoke to Or who guided him in how to perform CPR to try to save Libby's life. 

Just a few minutes later, MDA Senior EMT Shevach Yehuda arrived on scene, followed by the MICU team - Paramedic Alexander, EMT Alex, and first responders Uri and Leiby. They gave Libby 2 shocks with the defibrillator and performed CPR, that restarted her heart, and then evacuated her to hospital.  

Libby woke up a few days later in hospital, and after hearing what had happened, asked to meet the MDA team that saved her life. A few weeks later, with Libby standing on her own two feet, the team met her at her home in Haifa, where they were greeted with a big smile.

"Meeting the team was incredible," said Libby. "When the team came in we were moved to tears. I was so happy to see them, to hear their side of the story, and to understand how rare the miracle that happened to me was. I don't remember anything from that month, and I was thrilled to see these people who saved my life."

"Seeing Libby today gives us an indescribable sense of achievement," said MDA paramedic Alexander and EMT Alex. "There was a great deal of luck involved. When we arrived we saw Libby unconscious on the floor, with her husband Alex performing CPR with a cool head until we arrived. We continued CPR and gave her shocks from the defibrillator that helped restart her heart. Calls like these give us a feeling of achievement and drive us to continue our work." 

Shevach, who was first on scene: The entire chain of survival worked incredibly professionally, starting with Or in the dispatch room who gave Alex instructions on how to perform CPR, and continuing with the MICU team and the hospital teams too."