Fallen tree branch
Fallen tree branchISTOCK

On Sunday morning, at around 10:00 a.m., an Arab construction worker was hit in the head by a falling tree branch while working at a construction site on Ben Ish Chai Street in Beit Shemesh. The branch fell from a height of around 2 meters, leaving him with a bloody gash and causing him to lose consciousness. The 30-year-old’s co-workers who witnessed the calamity dragged him to the nearest clinic where they called emergency services.


Avraham Fain, a United Hatzalah volunteer, was in his home when he was alerted to the emergency. “Immediately upon getting the call this morning, I rushed over to help even though I wasn’t sure if I was even capable of doing anything to help the man’s situation. Despite this, I went because it was important for me to be present and help in any way I can.”


Avraham arrived in under three minutes together with an intensive care ambulance and they quickly parked their vehicles and ran inside the clinic. The team of first responders checked the injured man for vitals. The patient was lying there with his eyes wide open, but he was unresponsive when they tried to communicate with him. His pulse seemed to be steady but he was breathing shallow breaths. There was also a bloody gash on the man’s head from the accident that required bandaging.


Together with the other first responders, Avraham attached a heart monitor to the patient and administered fluids via an IV in an effort to get the man to come around. After ten minutes of treatment in the clinic, the EMTs lifted the patient onto a stretcher and transferred him to the hospital for further care.


Avraham returned home after the incident to continue his day. “It’s really just amazing what United Hatzalah can do with some volunteers and communication devices,” Avraham said, “I, along with other nearby medical responders, arrived at the scene after just a few minutes and were able to offer emergency assistance to the injured man. He was still unconscious when he was sent off to the hospital, but I am hopeful that he will recover thanks to the treatment he received.”