Ephraim Feldman who serves as the Chapter Head of United Hatzalah in Bnei Brak spent his flight from Eilat to Ben Gurion on Saturday Night treating a young boy who fainted in the middle of the flight. The boy had been feeling ill on the flight that left Ramon airport and only ten minutes into the flight the boy fainted from lack of oxygen.

The nervous flight crew asked if there was anyone with medical background on the flight and that is when Ephraim stood up and told the flight attendants that he is an EMT. He was brought to the child and given the medical kit from the plane. He began treating the child and after a short few minutes of treatment stabilized the child’s condition.

The pilots asked permission from air traffic control to fly faster towards their destination alerting them and the ground crew to the emergency. They were granted permission and sped up the landing process. As soon as the plane touched down a medical team was waiting to transport the boy to the nearest hospital for further care.

Feldman spoke about the incident and said: “I fly a lot over the course of the year and I’ve always smiled when people tell me dramatic stories of medical emergencies that happen to them on a flight as I haven’t yet been present for any. On Saturday night, even though the story had a good ending Baruch Hashem, for the first time I understood the importance of having a person with proper medical training on flights and in as many locations as possible in order to be able to help when it is needed most. The training and knowledge that I possessed regarding how to properly utilize the emergency medical equipment on board were what helped this child have proper medical care possible in his situation. It is my hope that as many people as possible learn how to administer first aid and become volunteer first responders so that in a time of need like this they too will know what to do.”