MDA’s medicycle mitzvah
Last December, thanks to the fundraising efforts of Moriah College and the NSW Jewish community, Magen David Adom (MDA) paramedic and first responder Aharon Adler received a medicycle - "an absolute game changer".
LAST December, thanks to the fundraising efforts of Moriah College and the NSW Jewish community, Magen David Adom (MDA) paramedic and first responder Aharon Adler received a medicycle – a revolutionary three-wheeled motorcycle that is fully stocked with medical supplies and equipment to aid emergency response.
Describing the vehicle as “an absolute game changer”, Adler, who is set to visit Australia later this month to address the MDA Sydney fundraiser, told The AJN from Jerusalem, “The medicycle is compact, fast and manoeuvrable, so I can get to the site in a fraction of the time. I can administer lifesaving treatment, prepare the patient for transport and contact dispatch all before the ambulance arrives.”
Adler, who has been volunteering for MDA for the past 15 years, added, “You never turn your pager off. You can be called at any time. I could be called right now.”
Recalling the harrowing story of how he was the first responder to arrive at the scene of a stabbing at the Damascus Gate last year, the paramedic said, “An 18-year-old boy, just joined the force a few months ago, had been stabbed five times. He was bleeding uncontrollably on the ground. I looked at his face and it looked like he was in the last moments of his life. He was a second away from not being there anymore.
“I stopped as much bleeding as I could. I treated him with fluids from an IV. I took him to the hospital, and the whole time I was just looking down at him, pale, covered in blood, thinking that any breath could be his last one.”
Three days later, Adler walked into the hospital and almost cried when he saw the boy.
“He was alive. And he had his whole life ahead of him.
“In Israel, sometimes you feel alone in the Middle East surrounded by violence. But then generous donations like this one from Moriah come in from the Diaspora, and you feel so connected.
“You know that the Jewish people are strong and united and you know you’re not alone.”
Adler will be speaking alongside Israeli advocate Noa Tishby and MDA director-general Eli Bin at the fundraiser.
The event will be held at the InterContinental Sydney Double Bay on Sunday, July 31 from 6-8.30pm. Visit www.trybooking.com/LTPG to book.
YAEL BRENDER
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