Stories From the Streets: CPR Rescue on Platform 2

On a recent Monday at around 6 PM, as a 50-year-old man stood alongside his friend on the platform of Hashalom train station in Tel Aviv, he suffered a sudden cardiac arrest and fell unconscious to the floor of the platform.

United Hatzalah EMT Tomer Segev was waiting for his train to arrive. Suddenly a public announcement blared, “Urgent! Medic needed on Platform 2!” Segev was not expecting an emergency and was without his equipment, but as a dedicated volunteer, he followed the crowd to the area of the emergency. 

The man lay on his back, unresponsive. The patient’s friend told Segev the man suffered from diabetes, and maybe that had something to do with what happened. Segev took the patient’s vitals and found the man had no pulse and was not breathing. 

The EMT told the bystander on the phone with emergency services to inform them an EMT was starting CPR. Segev asked him to please find a defibrillator and bring it quickly. For a full minute Segev performed chest compressions, hoping another first responder would come along and provide him with the proper equipment to save the man.

“I had no equipment with me, not even gloves,” Segev recalls. “It was a little unsanitary in that sense, but I know an immediate response makes all the difference when it comes to performing a resuscitation, so I started anyway. There was no time to waste.”

A passerby ran over with a defibrillator. Segev directed him and continued compressions as the man connected the device. The connected defibrillator advised a shock, so Segev paused to administer one. He distanced the crowd and inspected the area to make sure there was no water or other liquid that could create a danger when administering an electric current. 

After a few more long minutes of chest compressions, during which Segev felt 2 of the man's ribs crack from the pressure, an intensive care ambulance team and another United Hatzalah volunteer arrived to help. 

By the time the others arrived, Segev was exhausted and relieved to have another EMT take over. After another 10 minutes of CPR that included artificial respirations and incredible teamwork, the patient’s pulse finally returned.

“He started taking small, shallow breaths by himself but not enough to remove the respiration device,” Segev says. 

Once the patient’s situation was stable enough for transport to the hospital, the EMTs packed up their things and carried him to the ambulance.

Segev was appreciative of the assist. “I did not recognize the other United Hatzalah EMT that arrived with his vest and equipment, but he performed admirably, and I really appreciated the help.

“This was a stressful incident because I was alone, without equipment, for around 13 minutes. There was also a large crowd of people around me who were yelling and taking pictures. The man’s friend was next to me and was extremely nervous the whole time. This was also the first successful resuscitation I was part of in close to 3 years. So, all in all, this was an intense lifesaving situation for me. However, I have high hopes for the man’s recovery because of how quickly I started CPR after he collapsed.”

Raphael Poch is the international media spokesperson for United Hatzalah.