Tel Aviv - On Friday afternoon, just before 4:00 p.m., the bustling Carmel Flea Market (Shuk) in Tel Aviv was as busy as ever, as people went about their last-minute shopping before Shabbat. Among the throngs of shoppers was a middle-aged man who began to feel faint. As strangers recognized that the man was in distress, they approached him and offered to help him, when suddenly, the man collapsed in a stranger's arms. Worried onlookers called emergency services for help. United Hatzalah volunteer EMT Shmuel Leibtag was nearby on Rothschild Boulevard when he received the emergency alert. Using his electric bike, Shmuel cut-through traffic and sped over to the scene.

As he searched through the bustling market, Shmuel eventually found the man on the ground with an additional EMT above him, performing CPR. The EMT was without any equipment, as he happened to be in the market when the man collapsed. Shmuel quickly dropped his medical bag and switched the EMT in compressions.

The first EMT attached a defibrillator as Shmuel took over chest compressions. The defibrillator advised a shock, and Shmuel used the opportunity to attach his ventilating mask onto the unconscious man’s mouth and nose. 

After a few minutes, Central Tel Aviv Chapter Head Dani Shmuel arrived at the scene and joined the CPR attempts to revive the pulseless man. Dani helped clear the watching people who had stopped their shopping to witness the CPR. The crowded market area was making it difficult for the patient and EMTs to receive adequate amounts of air. 

Ten minutes of chest compressions assisted ventilation and another shock later, the man suddenly regained consciousness and urged the team to stop the attempts to revive him. The man was fully conscious and answering questions by the time the mobile intensive care ambulance arrived at the scene. 

Shmuel, Dani, and the third EMT helped the man out of the flea market to an opening where the ambulance had arrived. The man was then taken to the nearest hospital for further observation, and the Tel Aviv Shuk returned to its regular Friday routines. 

“I was on Rothschild Boulevard in the first place because I like to go to the city on Fridays and wait for any potential emergencies,” Shmuel commented. “I've been to many CPRs before, but they are always as exhilarating as the first time. Usually on Fridays, especially in the Tel Aviv heat, I find myself helping people who have minor medical emergencies, sometimes suffering from dehydration. I respond to all sorts of emergencies, be they light injuries or life-threatening ones. The moment that I saw that a person was ‘unconscious’ on my emergency app on my communications device, I immediately turned my bike around and raced to the location as fast as I could. I was determined to save this man’s life, and I am very happy that with the help of the other EMTs there that I was successful.”