Diaries of an EMT: A Race Against Time and Death

By: Mohanad Adam
Ramallah- As soon as PRCS’ emergency medical technician (EMT) Ra’ed Al Hotari (30) received the dispatch order over his two-way radio, he quickly headed to the northern entrance of Al-Bireh city (opposite the Beit El settlement) where violent confrontations were underway between young Palestinians and Israeli occupation forces. A very risky and difficult evacuation mission was about to start, compounded by a hail of bullets from Israeli soldiers and a suffocating traffic jam.
Hundreds of young men and women were approaching soldiers under a heavy hail of bullets and tear gas grenades. When Ahmad, a young man wearing the Palestinian keffiyeh, fell to the ground, the PRCS’ ambulance headed towards him, driving over stones and barriers and through a heavy cloud of tear gas. As the medical team prepared to evacuate Ahmad, a military Jeep headed towards them in an attempt to prevent them from reaching him. Finally, the team managed to evacuate Ahmad and the ambulance sped off towards Palestine Medical Compound (Ramallah Hospital) with its siren blaring.
Ra’ed became nervous when he found himself stuck in a traffic jam, and he ended up driving the wrong way in a one-way street as his colleagues attempted to resuscitate Ahmad. Finally, the ambulance arrived at the hospital within the 10-minute interval (the platinum ten) during which there is the highest likelihood that medical treatment will prevent death. The medical team had stopped the bleeding from Ahmad’s wound and had maintained a constant oxygen supply to his lungs. Ahmad was immediately taken to the Operation Room for surgery. As for Ra’ed and his colleagues, they were immediately dispatched on another mission.
In total, more than 5000 Palestinians have been injured so far, with the daily humanitarian mission carried out by Emergency Medical Services becoming much more difficult and dangerous.
Ra’ed has worked as an EMT with PRCS for the past 13 years. He is in a constant race with time and goes through an Adrenaline rush several times a day. On numerous occasions, occupation forces have targeted medical teams. Only last week, Ra’ed was shot with a rubber bullet in the abdomen as he was providing emergency care to an injured person near 'Beit El’ settlement. He also miraculously avoided a tear gas canister that was fired directly at him as he boarded his ambulance in that same area.
Since the start of the latest bout of unrest at the beginning of October, PRCS has monitored 136 violations by occupation forces against emergency medical crews, including 66 attacks against paramedics, which resulted in numerous injuries, and 32 cases of denial of access and obstruction. 39 ambulances were also damaged in these attacks.
During his intense and nerve-racking daily assignments, Ra’ed remains alert and shows a great deal of situational awareness. He constantly checks the time, and keeps an eye out for pedestrians, other vehicles, his colleagues and the patient he is transporting. He says he “feels very proud and happy when he helps save a patient’s life, which makes him further convinced of the importance of his work, despite its risks”.
Ra’ed is frustrated when other drivers try to overtake his ambulance. He is angered by drivers illegally parking their vehicles at crossroads, obstructing ambulances and costing them precious time, as well as by false dispatch calls which waste time and resources and create confusion.
A few hours after Ahmad arrived at the hospital, his condition stabilized. Unfortunately, not every story has a happy ending: sometimes, human lives are lost when occupation forces obstruct ambulances, while on other occasions the patient dies instantly and there simply isn’t anything the EMTs can do to save his life.
End.