On the way to visit her daughter in the hospital: she collapsed - and was saved

Revital Shariki, 63, from Jerusalem, arrived last Saturday at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital to visit her daughter, who had been hospitalized following an appendicitis and was waiting for surgery. On the way, she picked up her sister, and the two arrived together at the hospital and made their way to the ward. When they reached the elevator area in the building's parking lot, just before going up to the ward, Revital suddenly began to feel unwell. She complained of dizziness, and within moments collapsed on the floor in front of her sister.

Her sister immediately called for help. At that moment, the elevator door opened and out stepped Dr. Ohad Einav, a senior physician in the spinal surgery unit of the orthopedic division at Hadassah, who had just finished his on-call shift and was on his way home. When he approached Revital, he immediately understood that it was a life-threatening event and began performing CPR. "There was no time to wait. In such situations, every second is significant," he says.

After other staff members joined the doctor, it became clear that it was a critical situation. Dr. Einav opened Revital's airway and began performing CPR, while being assisted by passersby. At the same time, he summoned the hospital's security team and asked to activate a resuscitation code. One of the first to arrive at the scene was Gideon Almo, a security guard at Hadassah, who brought a defibrillator with him. The device was connected to Revital and she received several electric shocks, while Dr. Einav continued the resuscitation efforts.

"We were reported on the radio that there was a medical case and were updated that there was a code, meaning a need for resuscitation," says Saar Tabib, a security officer at Hadassah Ein Kerem. "At such a moment, it is clear that it is a difficult event, so we hurried as much as possible." Tabib, a dentist by profession and with a background in surgery, also arrived at the scene and joined Dr. Einav in performing the resuscitation. "I have knowledge in resuscitation, and I am very happy that I was able to join and help. Until the medical team arrived, we did not stop for a moment," he says.

The elevator area became a scene of resuscitation. Doctors, nurses, and security personnel worked together, while others brought equipment and cleared the way for the teams. The resuscitation lasted a long time and included several rounds of electric shocks and medication. Finally, the teams managed to restore Revital's pulse, and she was urgently transferred to the cardiac intensive care unit. However, even after the pulse returned, Revital's condition remained very serious. During the hospitalization, she collapsed again several times and required further resuscitation. As part of the treatment, she underwent a catheterization and was connected to an ECMO machine - a system that temporarily replaces part of the heart and lung activity. Later, she was transferred to intensive care and even required urgent surgery.

"Slowly we began to understand that maybe this is the end." During those hours, her family members waited outside the room, realizing that her condition was critical. "We prepared to say goodbye," says her daughter. "She came for me. She was not supposed to be a patient at all." Fortunately, in the days that followed, there was a turning point. Revital's condition began to improve gradually, her body systems stabilized, and the teams managed to reduce the medical support. Alongside the fear for her life, one of the main concerns was brain damage that could have been caused by the prolonged resuscitation, but this fear was also removed.

Revital herself does not remember anything from the moment she collapsed until she woke up in the hospital. "I heard everything from the stories of everyone around me," she says. Now, after recovering from the event, she mainly wants to thank the people who were there in those moments. "I received my life as a gift. I am grateful to everyone who was there in those moments and did not give up." Dr. Einav emphasizes that he was only the first in a long line of staff members who participated in treating Revital and saving her life. According to him, the case also illustrates the importance of familiarity with basic resuscitation actions and the use of a defibrillator: "As we see in such a case, knowledge of resuscitation actions can save lives."