Almost three weeks ago, on a Monday evening at the soccer game between Hapoel Be’er Sheva and Maccabi Haifa in the Yaakov Turner Toto Stadium in Be’er Sheva, Yossi Cohen, 42, suffered a cardiac arrest. Fortunately, United Hatzalah volunteer paramedic Gal Mazor was on hand as part of the medical team UH sends to all of Hapoel Be’er Sheva’s soccer matches and helped save the man’s life.
In case you’re interested, Maccabi Haifa was the league champion in 2021, and shares first place with Hapoel Be’er Sheva, so there was much excitement in the air that night. Also, Haifa defeated Be’er Sheva 2-1 that night.
Yossi Cohen began to experience symptoms on Sunday evening but they subsided. They returned on Monday afternoon when Yossi experienced shortness of breath and chest pains, both symptoms of a heart attack, but he lay down in bed, regulated his breathing, and once again they subsided. As an avid soccer fan, Yossi never missed a game of his favorite team Maccabi Haifa, and he wasn’t about to start now.
On Monday evening, Yossi arrived at the stadium with his friend 15 minutes before the opening whistle, so they ran to the entrance.
“I was forced to stop running as I felt a sudden sharp pain in my chest,” Yossi recalled. “The pain was so extreme that I could not continue. I had to lie down on the sidewalk by the entrance to the stadium, and once again tried to regulate my breathing. I was unsuccessful but forced myself up anyway and we took our seats on the bleachers while I was trying to catch my breath.”
20 minutes into the game, Yossi climbed down the bleachers and told an usher he needed medical assistance. He couldn’t bear the pain in his chest any longer. The usher alerted the United Hatzalah medical team at the stadium, and paramedic Gal Mazor came running, along with other EMTs.
“I saw Yossi on the floor, clutching his chest in pain and unable to breathe regularly,” said Gal. “My instincts told me he was suffering a heart attack. When I attached a heart monitor I was not surprised to see that my instincts were correct.”
Gal administered medications and fluids through an IV and fitted Yossi with an oxygen mask. He told Yossi that he was experiencing a heart attack and that they were going to bring him straight to Soroka Medical Center for emergency catheterization.
It was halftime, and the had crowd thinned out during the intermission. Yossi was pushed out in a wheelchair to an intensive care ambulance that was waiting for him.
When they arrived at Soroka, or as Yossi later put it, “the best hotel in the country,” the medical team stabilized him and the pain subsided. “I asked to go back to the stadium to finish watching the game because I felt better,” Yossi recalled with a smile.
A catheterization was scheduled for the next afternoon. However, Yossi woke up early in the morning in severe pain. But he only notified the nurses 45 minutes later, when the pain became too much to bear. “Suddenly, everyone was on top of me again, and at a quarter to nine, they started the catheterization ahead of schedule.”
“There’s probably nothing worse than a catheterization,” Yossi commented. ” It was a nightmare. I prayed it would end. And there I was, lying in a hospital bed for four days because of it. They said I had a blocked carotid artery with no arrhythmias.”
“If the cigarettes were the cause of my heart attack, then no cigarette was worth it,” Yossi confessed, adding that his wife had gotten rid of his remaining stash, giving it away to a hospital employee.
“My advice is don’t just pray for health. Pray that you should be able to keep yourselves healthy. Act on it, be vigilant and do blood tests frequently. Stop saying that starting tomorrow you’ll go on a diet or go on a long walk. Take action, and if you can’t do it on your own, seek help from a professional. My cousin told me something that made me very emotional. ‘You almost left our family,’ he said. It’s not worth taking the risk. Start taking care of yourselves.”
“I got so much support from the most amazing soccer players in the country,” said Yossi, “I will be there for their next game on Monday against team Ashdod, I can’t wait.”
His team tied 1-1 against Maccabi Netanya on Jan. 30, and Beat Hapoel Hadera 2-0 on Feb. 2. The Ashdod game is scheduled for Monday. Ashdod is in 9th place, so chances are Yossi’s team will win.
Maccabi Haifa spokesman Dudu Bezek relayed a message to Yossi: “Happy to hear you’re recovering and coming back to yourself. This was definitely a crazy story. The players were also very excited to hear your story and that you are better. It was nice meeting you. Take care of yourself.”
Maccabi Haifa forward Omer Atzili wished Yossi a speedy recovery: “I heard about your story and I am happy it is behind you now. Get well soon, we love you and can’t wait to see you at our next game.”
Atzili has scored 13 goals for Haifa so far this season, so his greeting certainly means a lot.
Paramedic Gal Mazor and Yossi have become close friends since the incident. Gal visited Yossi in the hospital during his recovery and they spoke to each other on the phone regularly. “I suffered a heart attack and gained a friend for life. We are like brothers,” Yossi said. “I want to thank the Creator of the world, and thank Gal for saving my life. I am grateful to be alive and well,” he concluded.
