An 80-year-old man was evacuated today (Thursday) in serious condition to hospital after choking on a piece of bread during a memorial service held at a synagogue on Machal Street in Tel Aviv. Medics performed successful resuscitation on him at the scene.
The incident occurred in the middle of an azkara at the Machal Street shul, where family members, mispallelim, neighbors and acquaintances had gathered to honor the memory of the niftar. As the participants sat in the atmosphere of remembrance, the elderly man tasted some of the bread that had been served to those attending. Within seconds, he began to choke as a result of a severe and sudden blockage of his airway. Unable to draw breath, he collapsed unconscious and slid from his chair to the floor, before the shocked and alarmed eyes of his family and those around him, who rushed to summon emergency and medical forces.
Upon receiving the urgent call at the United Hatzalah central district dispatch center, medics Shai Parjon, Yisrael Biton and Yisrael Peretz arrived at the scene with great speed. The teams ran into the shul and found the elderly man lying without a pulse and without spontaneous breathing. Without a moment's delay, the volunteers began a series of intensive, complex and prolonged resuscitation efforts. The medical work at the scene included frantic attempts to extract the foreign body from the upper airway, alongside powerful chest compressions, life-saving ventilations and the use of advanced medical equipment. Throughout, the family members and the many mispallelim present stood around and followed with nerve-wracking anxiety, in tefillah and in tremendous tension, the determined struggle of the teams for the life of their loved one inside the shul.
After long minutes, the rapid medical treatment bore fruit: the elderly man's pulse returned to beat independently, to the great relief and joy of all those present. Immediately after initial stabilization of his medical condition at the scene, an intensive-care ambulance evacuated him with continued respiratory support, continuous monitoring and close medical care to the trauma room at Ichilov Medical Center in Tel Aviv, his condition defined as serious but stable.
Choking incidents from food among the elderly are considered particularly dangerous medical emergencies requiring a rapid response within a matter of minutes, and b'chasdei Shamayim the resourcefulness, professionalism and swift response of the United Hatzalah teams prevented a severe tragedy and turned the difficult incident into an open miracle in the midst of the communal gathering.
