Israeli doctor discovers American doctors have esprit de corps after all
An Israeli doctor finds unexpected camaraderie in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon terror attack.
David Spector wasn’t
just an attending surgeon at Ichilov Hospital at Sourasky Medical Center in Tel
Aviv during the second intifada. He served in the Airborne Rescue and Evacuation
Unit 669 – one of the most elite units of the Israel Air Force.
Army
life, he explained, forced doctors to work together as if their country required
it of them. And quite honestly, he simply didn’t expect the same camaraderie to
come from Americans.
“No one in Boston is used to it, and their reactions
were very different from what I expected,” he said. “They became viscerally
emotional, and patriotic. Suddenly everyone was very close.”
Once it
became clear that the city was under attack, a tremendous sense of community
drove Spector’s colleagues in a way he hadn’t seen in the four years since he
had first arrived in the US.
He characterized his reaction as a cultural
mechanism that, while perhaps a byproduct of unfortunate circumstances, enables
him to do his job efficiently and without emotional delay. It’s a trial-by-fire
that literally comes with the territory.
And yet, while Spector tried to
advise his colleagues at Tufts not to be afraid when leaving work for home – the
entire city of Boston went into virtual lockdown, as the identity of the
still-at-large 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was publicly revealed – he found
himself reflecting on whether it was a faux sense of panic on the part of a
privileged nation, or whether he himself was in someway jaded, cynical or
hardened from seeing so many limbs in his past.
As Spector made his way
to the hospital, he missed that golden hour of aid for the victims: when blood
loss must be abated; when decisions have to be made on amputations. By the time
he got there, most of those decisions had been made. And what Spector saw took
him by surprise.
“In a potential mass-casualty situation, they really are
well-organized, and I didn’t expect that here coming from Israel,” Spector
said.
I know that Israel developed the techniques for dealing with mass casualty events (actually, an American Israeli - Dr. David Appelbaum HY"D - who was killed in a terror attack himself R"L, developed the techniques). But this article strikes me as too condescending. Yes, of course, the American doctors managed to work together. When everything is on the line, most people do what they have to do.
Video: Chief of Emergency Services at Mass General Hospital credits Israelis with setting up emergency system
Sorry that this video kicks in automatically.
Here's a video of Dr. Alastair Conn, Chief of Emergency Services at Massachusetts General Hospital, telling an interviewer that Israelis helped his hospital set up their emergency care system, which saved many lives on Monday.
Let's go to the videotape.
More here. Sorry again that this video kicks in automatically.
Video: Israel teaches doctors and medical students from around the World emergency medicine
Young doctors and medical students from around the world came to Jerusalem to learn from Israel's vast experience in setting up emergency assistance programs across the globe. The participants were also treated to an up close look at Israel- the country.
The Arab news service Maan has reported the story in which 'settlers' saved a 'Palestinian' baby with an umbilical cord wrapped around its neck outside the Jewish town of Itamar during the week after the Fogel family massacre.
Israeli forces and paramedics saved the life of a Palestinian woman and her newly born infant Wednesday, at the settlement where five members of a family were murdered, news reports said.
More important than reading the whole thing, I suggest that you read the comments to get a sense of the lies that are used in the 'Palestinian' areas to spread Jew hatred.
In an email, Palestinian Media Watch's Itamar Marcus reported that the Arabic version of Maan also reported the story, but attributed it to 'Israeli news reports,' implying that they were less than believable.
What may be the most amazing thing about this country and the Jewish people is that despite the fact the our neighbors continue to murder us - as we saw last weekend in Itamar - we retain our basic humanity and continue to treat them as individuals worthy of human dignity and having their lives saved. Yes, in Itamar (okay, next door to Itamar, in Neve Tzuf).
Just as IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz arrived in Neve Tzuf to offer his condolences, a Palestinian cab raced towards the community’s entrance. In it, soldiers and paramedics discovered a Palestinian woman in her 20s in advanced stages of labor and facing a life-threatening situation: The umbilical cord was wrapped around the young baby girl’s neck, endangering both her and her mother.
The quick action of settler paramedics and IDF troops deployed in the area saved the mother’s and baby’s life, prompting great excitement and emotions at the site where residents are still mourning the brutal death of five local family members.
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
