Neighbor, doctors save toddler crushed by shutter

A policewoman neighbor and doctors at Kaplan Medical Center in Rehovot saved an 18- month-old boy who was almost crushed to death by a motorized window shutter in a Mizkeret Batya home last week.

The toddler, Shai Cohen, was caught by the metal shutter after he accidentally pushed the button between the door and the garden. It came down on his neck and stopped his breathing.

A policewoman who lives next door was alerted and ran over to resuscitate him when he lost consciousness. He was then rushed to Kaplan, where his condition was stabilized.

His mother Rahel urged parents to avoid such shutters and replace them with the type that children cannot operate by themselves.

“I finished giving Shai a bath, and he went downstairs together with other children.

Apparently, he wanted to play with the trampoline, got up on the couch and pushed the button to open the electrical shutter separating the living room from the garden,” the mother said.

He got caught under the shutter and turned blue. His older sister saw the accident and shouted to the neighbors, causing the policewoman who come. “She saved his life until we got to Kaplan,” the mother said.

Shai arrived at the emergency room in very serious condition, not breathing and unconscious but with a heartbeat. Dr. Shai Nemet of the pediatric intensive care unit, director Dr.

Alvin Tabechnik and pediatric emergency department head Dr. Baruch Gonen gave him emergency treatment.

“Because of the serious harm to his neck, while resuscitating him we also performed imaging to see if his vertebrae and major blood vessels carrying blood to his brain had been harmed. Fortunately, the results were normal,” Nemet said.

After two days in intensive care, the boy improved and began to breathe on his own. He is now fully conscious and cooperating with the staff, but he will need rehabilitation in the future, he added.

Nemet urged parents to learn basic first aid so that they can immediately act to save lives in an emergency. The policewoman’s speedy action made the difference between a good result and a bad one, he continued.

As a result of the incident, residents of Mizkeret Batya decided to organize a group first-aid course.