This week has been dedicated to the prep work needed for Pesach, which starts next week. Most of the schools are already off on Pesach break as are the Gans(pre-schools).So this week, instead of us volunteering at our usual volunteer places we got to do other work in the community to help get ready for Pesach. Some people got to go to Lake Yerucham and help clean it up before a large festival that takes place there every year at the end of Pesach. I had the opportunity of going to the Shul and cleaning it for Pesach. I was also lucky enough to work a MADA shift every day this week and even work a few doubles. I helped clean the MADA station and get the garden outside of the station looking pretty before Pesach. I also got to wash the ambulances and cleaned them on the inside. We are also starting to clean our apartment for Pesach and sell our Chametz and finalize our individual plans for Pesach.
I really don't have a lot to report from this week. It was a relaxing week more of less and you can certainly smell Pesach in the air.
This week for Shabbat, I am spending it in Yerucham and going to my host family for both meals as well as going to shul. I hope the minor down pour of rain we had this morning subsides and we have a pretty Shabbat in Yerucham.
Send your prayers for Sarah bat Basha and Channah bat Pesha Chana.
Shabbat Shalom,
David
Friday, March 26, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Kiubbutz Ein Tzurim and MADA DImona
I am about to go and work a MADA shift, but I wanted to just check in and write a short post about the past couple days. I went to Kibbutz Ein Tzurim over Shabbat. The Kibbutz is the home of the other half of Nativ for the second semester. It is a very nice Kibbutz and the people are very friendly. However, it is not for me. I am not a Kibbutznick at all and I am very happy that I am living in Yerucham and have the opportunity to volunteer and have an active role in the community. Nevertheless, I am glad that I had the chance to visit the Kibbutz and see what it was like.
I headed back to Yerucham after Shabbat and worked an easy graveyard shift for MADA. When I got there on Saturday night, they told me that they were in need of an extra set of hands on Sunday from 9am to 5pm working in Dimona with one of the Yerucham drivers. They volunteered me and I accepted the invitation. So on Sunday morning after I finished the first shift, I went home and prayed and ate something and then met the driver who I was going to be working with, Tzachi, and we hitchhiked to Dimona. We got to the Dimona station, which is much bigger then Yeruchams, and we just relaxed and got settled. Tzachi let me do a complete check of the ambulances supplies and then we gave the rig a bath. We didn't actually get a call til about 10:30. The first call was a woman who was having heart pains and had elevated blood pressure. We got her to the hospital and all settled and we headed back to Dimona.
Our next and last call was a car accident around 2:30ish. A mid 70 year old man was driving and most likely had a minor heart attack and crashed into a barrier on the side of the rode. Tzachi and I were the first ones on the scene. I was excited for the real action but yet nervous at the same time. We got our of the ambulance and ran to the scene. We evaluated the man and determined that he wasn't going to be able to get out of the car by himself. I ran to grab a neck brace and the backboard. Tzachi braced his neck and I set up for the back boarding. We got him onto the backboard with some help of the police. After that we lifted him onto the bed and rushed him into our ambulance. We gave him oxygen but he said he didn't want any. We immediately called for a backup ambulance that has more equipment and more staff as well as drugs. The other ambulance came and we transported him from ours to the other.
After that Tzachi and I headed back to the station about 2 minutes away. We weren't even back in the station for 15 minutes before we get another call. Tzachi and I sprint out the door and race out of the station. We got called back to the original scene. Our patient's that was stable when we left was crashing and they had started CPR. Tzachi and I once again sprint as fast as we can to the other ambulance. Tzachi goes inside to assist the other 2 medics and volunteer that were already in there. I stayed out side and waited til I was called. I didn't expect to be called into the ambulance to work but they called me in about five minutes later. I went in and they told me to start compressions. I grabbed a hold of the cardio-pump and started doing compressions as fast and strong as I could per the instructions of the head medic. I did compressions for about 7 minutes without stopping and my arms and back were killing me since I was leaning over the patient with unstable balance. I then switched to pushing the AMBU bag(the bag that is attached to the tube in the throat to help the patient breath). AFter squeezing every 5 seconds for about 10 minutes, I then switched and went back to doing compressions. The patient had to be shocked about 4 times and the finally got a very weak pulse and heart beat after about 45 minutes of CPR. The head medic and driver of the other ambulance decided they would make a run for it to the hospital in Beer Sheva, about a 25 minute drive away. Tzachi and I quickly got out of their ambulance and headed back to ours and headed back to the station. That was all we could do, it was now up to the other medics and the hospital to do the rest. Tzachi and I returned back to the station to rest and fill out the paper work. We ended our shift around 5 and got a ride back to Yerucham and Tzachi took me home. While we were heading back to my apartment Tzachi got a call from the medics from Dimona that our patient had passed away at the hospital.
It was a first of many things for me. It was the first time that I was in an emergency situation and had to act quickly but smartly. I had to be able to follow orders that were give very quickly and my actions had to be instant and precise. I was happy that I got to take part in such a difficult task and that I was involved in it all. It is scary work to be a medic and work under the pressure of the patient, the family screaming outside the ambulance, and the overall surroundings of the situation. I feel accomplished and feel that my training payed off. It is sad to know that he didn't end up making it and the reality check of that is the worst part. I felt like I was in an episode of ER or Chicago Hope and the doctors do all the can to say a patient, but in the end the opposite result takes place.
It is hard work, but someone has to do it...
David
I headed back to Yerucham after Shabbat and worked an easy graveyard shift for MADA. When I got there on Saturday night, they told me that they were in need of an extra set of hands on Sunday from 9am to 5pm working in Dimona with one of the Yerucham drivers. They volunteered me and I accepted the invitation. So on Sunday morning after I finished the first shift, I went home and prayed and ate something and then met the driver who I was going to be working with, Tzachi, and we hitchhiked to Dimona. We got to the Dimona station, which is much bigger then Yeruchams, and we just relaxed and got settled. Tzachi let me do a complete check of the ambulances supplies and then we gave the rig a bath. We didn't actually get a call til about 10:30. The first call was a woman who was having heart pains and had elevated blood pressure. We got her to the hospital and all settled and we headed back to Dimona.
Our next and last call was a car accident around 2:30ish. A mid 70 year old man was driving and most likely had a minor heart attack and crashed into a barrier on the side of the rode. Tzachi and I were the first ones on the scene. I was excited for the real action but yet nervous at the same time. We got our of the ambulance and ran to the scene. We evaluated the man and determined that he wasn't going to be able to get out of the car by himself. I ran to grab a neck brace and the backboard. Tzachi braced his neck and I set up for the back boarding. We got him onto the backboard with some help of the police. After that we lifted him onto the bed and rushed him into our ambulance. We gave him oxygen but he said he didn't want any. We immediately called for a backup ambulance that has more equipment and more staff as well as drugs. The other ambulance came and we transported him from ours to the other.
After that Tzachi and I headed back to the station about 2 minutes away. We weren't even back in the station for 15 minutes before we get another call. Tzachi and I sprint out the door and race out of the station. We got called back to the original scene. Our patient's that was stable when we left was crashing and they had started CPR. Tzachi and I once again sprint as fast as we can to the other ambulance. Tzachi goes inside to assist the other 2 medics and volunteer that were already in there. I stayed out side and waited til I was called. I didn't expect to be called into the ambulance to work but they called me in about five minutes later. I went in and they told me to start compressions. I grabbed a hold of the cardio-pump and started doing compressions as fast and strong as I could per the instructions of the head medic. I did compressions for about 7 minutes without stopping and my arms and back were killing me since I was leaning over the patient with unstable balance. I then switched to pushing the AMBU bag(the bag that is attached to the tube in the throat to help the patient breath). AFter squeezing every 5 seconds for about 10 minutes, I then switched and went back to doing compressions. The patient had to be shocked about 4 times and the finally got a very weak pulse and heart beat after about 45 minutes of CPR. The head medic and driver of the other ambulance decided they would make a run for it to the hospital in Beer Sheva, about a 25 minute drive away. Tzachi and I quickly got out of their ambulance and headed back to ours and headed back to the station. That was all we could do, it was now up to the other medics and the hospital to do the rest. Tzachi and I returned back to the station to rest and fill out the paper work. We ended our shift around 5 and got a ride back to Yerucham and Tzachi took me home. While we were heading back to my apartment Tzachi got a call from the medics from Dimona that our patient had passed away at the hospital.
It was a first of many things for me. It was the first time that I was in an emergency situation and had to act quickly but smartly. I had to be able to follow orders that were give very quickly and my actions had to be instant and precise. I was happy that I got to take part in such a difficult task and that I was involved in it all. It is scary work to be a medic and work under the pressure of the patient, the family screaming outside the ambulance, and the overall surroundings of the situation. I feel accomplished and feel that my training payed off. It is sad to know that he didn't end up making it and the reality check of that is the worst part. I felt like I was in an episode of ER or Chicago Hope and the doctors do all the can to say a patient, but in the end the opposite result takes place.
It is hard work, but someone has to do it...
David
Friday, March 12, 2010
Soo Hottt....
This week in Yerucham it has been unbelievably hot for the beginning of March. I just can't get over it. The weather at night is so beautiful and pleasant but during the day you are drenching yourself in sweat. Oh well...
This week was a good and typical week as far as Yerucham is concerned. I worked everyday teaching English at school. On Monday afternoon I went to work two shifts at MADA. I worked from 3pm to 11pm with no calls and then at 11:15pm we got a call for a transport of a 30 year old woman who was pregnant who was suffering from bleeding so we took her to the hospital. We made it back to the station around 1:15am and I was in bed by around 1:30am to be later woken up at 4:30 for a transport of a man who had so called "chest pains." The two other medics I was working with and I all thought it was a bogus case but we took him none the less. We returned around 6am to the station and I really didn't go back to sleep.
Tuesday morning was Yom Nativ and we spent the majority of the morning cleaning up the Shul that we all go to and started making head way on a beautiful new garden. It needs a lot of work but it should be quite the garden when finished. We spent the rest of the morning and beginning half of the afternoon doing other activities and finally finished Yom Nativ around 3ish. For the rest of the afternoon I just hung around the apartment and hung out with some people. I went to bed at 9pm that night cause I had been up since 4:30am.
Wednesday was a normal day of English teaching and that night I went to my host family with Ilana and we were invited to the daughters Bat Mitzvah which is next week. They Bat Mitzvah is going to be at the top of Masada. I am not sure if either of us will be able to go, but it was a great idea for a Bat Mitzvah and a very thoughtful thought to invite us. Thursday I taught in the morning and then did the grocery shopping for dinner that night of Baked Ziti and the shopping for Shabbat afternoon where I will be hosting 10 people. Baked Ziti turned out really well and the apartment loved it. And as I am typing this I am waiting for my chicken to be down so I can turn the pan to the opposite side. Our stove isn't the best in the world and it will take me a few makes to figure out how it works. I am excited to host Shabbat lunch and just to have people over since we just redid the living room with brand new couches that were donated to us. Shabbat should be great. Last night I worked from 11pm to 7am at MADA and got one call around 11:30ish. It was a transport from Mizpe Ramon to Beer Sheva of a 18 year old Russian immigrant who also had bleeding during her 3 and 1/2 month of pregnancy. She and her "male" counterpart didn't really speak so much Hebrew so I tried to talk to them in English and it worked for a bit but after a few things I was trying to ask them they just stopped answering. Luckily when we got to the hospital, a woman who was cleaning spoke Russian and she was able to help. We got back to the station around 1ish and then I was in bed til 7am this morning.
So this week was pretty good minus the heat. I am really looking forward to Shabbat. Shul then dinner at my host family. Shul in the morning and then lunch at my place. It should be a nice and relaxing Shabbat.
Shabbat Shalom to all and Refuah Shelema to Sarah bat Basha.
David
This week was a good and typical week as far as Yerucham is concerned. I worked everyday teaching English at school. On Monday afternoon I went to work two shifts at MADA. I worked from 3pm to 11pm with no calls and then at 11:15pm we got a call for a transport of a 30 year old woman who was pregnant who was suffering from bleeding so we took her to the hospital. We made it back to the station around 1:15am and I was in bed by around 1:30am to be later woken up at 4:30 for a transport of a man who had so called "chest pains." The two other medics I was working with and I all thought it was a bogus case but we took him none the less. We returned around 6am to the station and I really didn't go back to sleep.
Tuesday morning was Yom Nativ and we spent the majority of the morning cleaning up the Shul that we all go to and started making head way on a beautiful new garden. It needs a lot of work but it should be quite the garden when finished. We spent the rest of the morning and beginning half of the afternoon doing other activities and finally finished Yom Nativ around 3ish. For the rest of the afternoon I just hung around the apartment and hung out with some people. I went to bed at 9pm that night cause I had been up since 4:30am.
Wednesday was a normal day of English teaching and that night I went to my host family with Ilana and we were invited to the daughters Bat Mitzvah which is next week. They Bat Mitzvah is going to be at the top of Masada. I am not sure if either of us will be able to go, but it was a great idea for a Bat Mitzvah and a very thoughtful thought to invite us. Thursday I taught in the morning and then did the grocery shopping for dinner that night of Baked Ziti and the shopping for Shabbat afternoon where I will be hosting 10 people. Baked Ziti turned out really well and the apartment loved it. And as I am typing this I am waiting for my chicken to be down so I can turn the pan to the opposite side. Our stove isn't the best in the world and it will take me a few makes to figure out how it works. I am excited to host Shabbat lunch and just to have people over since we just redid the living room with brand new couches that were donated to us. Shabbat should be great. Last night I worked from 11pm to 7am at MADA and got one call around 11:30ish. It was a transport from Mizpe Ramon to Beer Sheva of a 18 year old Russian immigrant who also had bleeding during her 3 and 1/2 month of pregnancy. She and her "male" counterpart didn't really speak so much Hebrew so I tried to talk to them in English and it worked for a bit but after a few things I was trying to ask them they just stopped answering. Luckily when we got to the hospital, a woman who was cleaning spoke Russian and she was able to help. We got back to the station around 1ish and then I was in bed til 7am this morning.
So this week was pretty good minus the heat. I am really looking forward to Shabbat. Shul then dinner at my host family. Shul in the morning and then lunch at my place. It should be a nice and relaxing Shabbat.
Shabbat Shalom to all and Refuah Shelema to Sarah bat Basha.
David
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Another Week in Yerucham, Purim, and Leadership!!!
I am starting to get back into the swing of blogging again and I am going to be doing it much more often then I did during the first semester, or at least I hope to. This past week has been full of amazing times. Sunday through Thursday were normal days of school teaching English and two MADA shifts from 3pm to 11pm. I was an hour and a half short of going to a huge car explosion out side of Yerucham on Monday afternoon. Five people were killed after their car exploded due to a semi truck swerving because of distraction. It was a horrible site to see on the news, but it is life and things like this happen. I got maybe 4 or 5 calls between both shifts and my Hebrew is getting much better because of the amount of time I am working for MADA. I am looking forward to more shifts in the upcoming weeks and months.
On Thursday after I finished school, I headed home quickly to pack up my stuff and help clean the apartment. We were all heading back near Jerusalem and eventually to Jerusalem for Leadership Week. After loading the bus on Thursday afternoon we drove to the Tel Aviv area for a MASA(organization through which Nativ is an affiliate) cultural arts program featuring a drumming company. It was a great start to an evening despite the rain and the bus driver getting lost. I felt like I was back at home having to ride in the front of the bus and give directions to the bus driver. After the drumming performance we met up with a bunch of the different year programs in Israel for a concert featuring Subliminal, a popular Israeli Rapper. It was a good concert, but it was fairly short. After an hourish bus ride to Ma'aleh Hachamisha, a resort and spa right outside of Jerusalem. We got settled into our rooms and we all crashed pretty quickly because it was a long day and we had an early morning ahead of us.
Friday morning we all went to the Land of Israel Museum in Tel Aviv as well as the Palmach Museum also in Tel Aviv. I had never been to either of the museums before, but I really enjoyed both of them especially the Palmach museum because it is a completely interactive and virtual museum that takes you through the pre establishment of the State of Israel and a underground military force. After the museums we headed back to our resort to get ready for Shabbat. We all davened together on Friday night and then had an incredible dinner at the hotel and then we broke up into different sessions. Jules was into and I got to go to his session on Amalek which tied into the Parasha for the weekend dealing with Amalek and remembering and whipping them out of our memory. After the session we had a Nativ tisch with singing and food and then sleepy time. Shababt morning and the day were pretty relaxing with services, lunch, a session with Yossi about American Jewry and then sleepy time. We also had a light snack before the festivities began.
Saturday night began Purim and we all dressed up. I didn't really put a lot into the costume because I don't normally dress up. I wore these Aladin looking pants and socks with monkeys on them. Nothing to special. We all read the Megillah together which was very nice and then we had a nice dinner followed by a dance and karaoke party to end the night. Purim morning, Sunday morning, we prayed and read the Megillah again and then had a pretty relaxing morning. We went to Bat Yam, about 15ish minutes from Tel Aviv near the water, for our Purim Seudah. It was a nice meal and a good ending note to a great Purim.
Monday we went to Casaria for the day to do leadership and team building activities. We did some fun activities to start and then we went to do low ropes activities. We did an activity where you had to get people over a 20 foot wall and I was spotting someone and they accidentally kicked me in the mouth so I now have war wounds and they look pretty good if I may say so myself. After a good day in Casaria we headed back to our old home of Beit Nativ. We ate dinner there and then headed out for the light show presentation at the Tower of David. It was an absolutely incredible show. It takes the scenes from creation all the way through today and projects them on the walls of the area. It was a first time for most of us and an incredible time it was.
Tuesday and Wednesday are Leadership seminars. We have different programs led by our staff and a few outside guests. They were all pretty solid, but I won't lie, none of them had anything to do with leadership(shhh). Anyways, The weekend is quickly approaching. I am staying in Jerusalem for Shabbat with Jules before he heads back to the states on Sunday morning. We are going to go to shul at Kol Rina(the bomb shelter shul) Friday night and eat at Prima Royal Hotel and then Shabbat morning go to Shira Hadasha and then to David Keren and his family for lunch. It should be a good Shabbat.
Shabbat Shalom in advance and please keep your prayers coming for Sarah bat Basha
David
Now some MADA Pictures
On Thursday after I finished school, I headed home quickly to pack up my stuff and help clean the apartment. We were all heading back near Jerusalem and eventually to Jerusalem for Leadership Week. After loading the bus on Thursday afternoon we drove to the Tel Aviv area for a MASA(organization through which Nativ is an affiliate) cultural arts program featuring a drumming company. It was a great start to an evening despite the rain and the bus driver getting lost. I felt like I was back at home having to ride in the front of the bus and give directions to the bus driver. After the drumming performance we met up with a bunch of the different year programs in Israel for a concert featuring Subliminal, a popular Israeli Rapper. It was a good concert, but it was fairly short. After an hourish bus ride to Ma'aleh Hachamisha, a resort and spa right outside of Jerusalem. We got settled into our rooms and we all crashed pretty quickly because it was a long day and we had an early morning ahead of us.
Friday morning we all went to the Land of Israel Museum in Tel Aviv as well as the Palmach Museum also in Tel Aviv. I had never been to either of the museums before, but I really enjoyed both of them especially the Palmach museum because it is a completely interactive and virtual museum that takes you through the pre establishment of the State of Israel and a underground military force. After the museums we headed back to our resort to get ready for Shabbat. We all davened together on Friday night and then had an incredible dinner at the hotel and then we broke up into different sessions. Jules was into and I got to go to his session on Amalek which tied into the Parasha for the weekend dealing with Amalek and remembering and whipping them out of our memory. After the session we had a Nativ tisch with singing and food and then sleepy time. Shababt morning and the day were pretty relaxing with services, lunch, a session with Yossi about American Jewry and then sleepy time. We also had a light snack before the festivities began.
Saturday night began Purim and we all dressed up. I didn't really put a lot into the costume because I don't normally dress up. I wore these Aladin looking pants and socks with monkeys on them. Nothing to special. We all read the Megillah together which was very nice and then we had a nice dinner followed by a dance and karaoke party to end the night. Purim morning, Sunday morning, we prayed and read the Megillah again and then had a pretty relaxing morning. We went to Bat Yam, about 15ish minutes from Tel Aviv near the water, for our Purim Seudah. It was a nice meal and a good ending note to a great Purim.
Monday we went to Casaria for the day to do leadership and team building activities. We did some fun activities to start and then we went to do low ropes activities. We did an activity where you had to get people over a 20 foot wall and I was spotting someone and they accidentally kicked me in the mouth so I now have war wounds and they look pretty good if I may say so myself. After a good day in Casaria we headed back to our old home of Beit Nativ. We ate dinner there and then headed out for the light show presentation at the Tower of David. It was an absolutely incredible show. It takes the scenes from creation all the way through today and projects them on the walls of the area. It was a first time for most of us and an incredible time it was.
Tuesday and Wednesday are Leadership seminars. We have different programs led by our staff and a few outside guests. They were all pretty solid, but I won't lie, none of them had anything to do with leadership(shhh). Anyways, The weekend is quickly approaching. I am staying in Jerusalem for Shabbat with Jules before he heads back to the states on Sunday morning. We are going to go to shul at Kol Rina(the bomb shelter shul) Friday night and eat at Prima Royal Hotel and then Shabbat morning go to Shira Hadasha and then to David Keren and his family for lunch. It should be a good Shabbat.
Shabbat Shalom in advance and please keep your prayers coming for Sarah bat Basha
David
Now some MADA Pictures
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