Anastasia Bagadlov: A soldier next to me pushed my head down, and thanks to him, glass pieces flew over my head, but I was not wounded.
By JUDY SIEGEL ITZKOVICHEgged bus attacked 311 R(photo credit: REUTERS/Lior Grundman)
Magen David Adom volunteer medic Anastasia Bagadlov never thought when leaving for Eilat on the 392 Egged bus last Thursday that she would be treating the wounded in the terror attack just half an hour after boarding.“We heard an explosion near the Netafim checkpoint,” she recalled on Monday. “Innocently, we thought a light bulb in the bus had exploded. In seconds, the passengers started to scream, they are shooting at us. Everybody get down, they were told.”RELATED:Heart attack saves man from rocket attackAll the soldiers dropped to the floor, and glass shards and metal fragments started to fly, the medic said. “A soldier who sat next to me pushed my head down, and thanks to him, the glass pieces flew over my head, and I was not wounded.Instinctually, I shouted: “Are there wounded? And the answer came back quickly.”
Bagadlov has volunteered in MDA’s Eilat station for the last five years as a first-aid medic.“The passengers shouted to the driver not to stop, but to continue to drive to the checkpoint. There the doors opened, and together with two soldiers, we evacuated one person who was seriously wounded in his lower limbs and lost a lot of blood. When the ambulances came, I recognized medics I know from our station. I kept helping the teams, and we cooperated.Together, we transferred the wounded to the ambulance, and a paramedic instructed me how to open a vein and bandage him,” she said.The young woman added that she had no doubt that her experience in the field helped her save lives.“This time, I had the advantage of being there and helping the wounded. It was amazing that no one hesitated.
Everyone wanted to help find equipment and calm down the anxious passengers.”Bagadlov wished everyone a quick recovery and said she hoped the assistance she gave helped them. To the young volunteers in MDA, she concluded: “One can never know when your know-how will be needed and you can save lives.”Click for full Jpost coverage
