On Tuesday q4 Cheshvan, a two-year-old child choked on a banana that he was eating while in daycare in Bnei Brak. The daycare teacher who followed the instructions provided to her by United Hatzalah, saved the child’s life.

Uzi Barak, a volunteer EMT with United Hatzalah said: “The daycare teacher told me that she followed the instructions she received from the medical department of United Hatzalah, and succeeded in dislodging the banana which had gotten caught in the child’s windpipe. Her actions, which she undertook simultaneously while calling for emergency services, saved the child’s life. When I arrived at the daycare, together with other volunteer ambucycle drivers, we found the child healthy and in good condition thanks to the quick and effective actions of the daycare teacher.”

As part of the campaign to raise choking awareness among daycares and kindergartens, Israel’s national volunteer emergency medical services organization, United Hatzalah, distributed magnets with detailed instructions regarding what to do in case of a choking emergency. The daycare teacher in question received the magnet on Sunday, only two days prior to the incident and followed the instructions on the magnet and those given to her by the dispatcher. The campaign began earlier this month and so far informative magnets have been handed out to hundreds of daycares and kindergartens across the country.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)