Medical miracle: 13-yr-old who suffered heart attack saved by MDA
The team carried out chest compressions as agonizing minutes dragged by, in addition to administering medication and electric shocks via a defibrillator.
By DONNA RACHEL EDMUNDSEilon Atel was saved by paramedics Feras Rayes and Amit Orenshten after suffering a heart attack while playing football. July 2020(photo credit: MAGEN DAVID ADOM)
A 13-year-old boy experienced a medical miracle when he was saved by Magen David Adom (MDA) from dying after suffering a heart attack while playing soccer.Eilon Gabriel Atel was enjoying a friendly neighborhood game of soccer with friends in Nehariya last week when suddenly he grabbed his chest, suffered a cardiac arrest and collapsed. His frightened friends called the 101 Emergency Dispatch number for MDA, and were guided through basic resuscitation techniques until the MDA paramedic team arrived at the scene."As soon as I arrived at the field, I saw a young boy unconscious and the people who were there performing basic resuscitation operations under the guidance of the medic from the MDA dispatch center," Sen MDA EMT, Feras Rayes, who arrived at the football field first, said. "We started performing advanced resuscitation operations, and with the help of the team from the intensive care unit, we continued our efforts until his heart began beating on its own."The team carried out chest compressions as agonizing minutes dragged by, in addition to administering medication and electric shocks via a defibrillator."We arrived at the scene with the MICU and continued the resuscitation operations," said Amit Orenshten, an MDA paramedic. "This is not a common situation to perform resuscitation operations on a young boy, and we really fought for him. In the first few seconds after the electric shocks, I saw on the screen of the defibrillator that Eilon's heart was beating again, and we were all very relieved. His friends really shouted for joy on the pitch."But the rescue wasn't over. The paramedics continued to administer treatment while evacuating Eilon to the hospital, where doctors continued to fight for his life until he regained consciousness."We have no words to thank the medic at the MDA dispatch center who instructed those who were in Eilon's area how to start performing the resuscitation operations and the teams that arrived quickly at the football field and brought Eilon back to us. We have no doubt that without their dedicated care in the first and critical minutes Eilon would not have been with us today," said Meshi Atal, Eilon's mother.Meshi thanked the team for staying with the family throughout Eilon's ordeal."The warm embrace of Feras and Amit who came to visit Eilon at the hospital even when he was unconscious gave us strength and helped us get through the difficult moments until Eilon woke up and came back to us," she said. "Thanks to them, we won him back."Amit added "To see Eilon standing on his feet today is very exciting. As a paramedic at MDA, there is no better feeling than knowing that I have a part in Eilon returning to his family and smiling."
