BNEI BRAK, Israel (Press Release) — A few months ago, United Hatzalah volunteer EMT Raphael Elihav Nachshoni was involved in a motor vehicle accident on Hashomer Street in Bnei Brak while he was on his way to respond to a medical emergency. Elihav was critically injured and came very close to death. The doctors who received him in the emergency room had given up all chances of his survival. Against all odds, Elihav recuperated, and after a very short stint in rehabilitation returned to duty as a volunteer first responder last Thursday.
Due to his injuries and in an effort to ease his work as a first responder, United Hatzalah has given him one of the organization’s electric cars known as “mini-lance emergency vehicles.” The vehicle was donated specifically for Elihav to use in order to allow him to return to his volunteering as an EMT first responder without having to ride on an ambu-cycle, which doctors thought would be inadvisable for him.
During the weekly get together of the first responders in Bnei Brak, President and Founder of United Hatzalah Eli Beer surprised Elihav and the other gathered responders when he arrived to provide ELihav with the new vehicle.
The Acting Mayor of Bnei Brak and Secretary of the High Council of Sages Rabbi Avraham Rubinstein came to show his support for the organization at the presentation. Beer commented on how happy he was to see Elihav fully recuperated and back in action. “Today is one of the happiest days in my life. To see Elihav healthy and return to service as a United Hatzalah volunteer, is something that is truly special. A few months ago I visited him while he was in serious condition in the hospital. I made him a promise during that visit, that if he is able to heal and he works on getting himself healthy, then we would do everything in our power as an organization to enable him to return to being a first responder. During the recent weeks when he returned home and was in the final stages of making his full recovery from the very serious injuries that he sustained, Elihav requested to be reinstated as a first responder once again. We made the decision then to purchase for him this special vehicle, our new “mini-lance,” that was just brought into service in our fleet of vehicles a few months ago. With this new vehicle, Elihav can continue to arrive at the scenes of emergencies and save lives as fast as possible, just like he used to do prior to the accident.”
Beer closed by saying: “I and everyone in the organization wish Elihav and his family the best of health and success both in his personal life as well as a first responder.”
*
Preceding provided by United Hatzalah