The author in a Magen David Adom ambulance.

It’s about 4:30am. The phone rings, and I wake with a start.

“Rubbish,” I mutter under my breath, as I stumble across the room to answer it. “You’ve got a call” is all that it said. I hang up, and my pulse rate increases. All of a sudden I am wide awake, it doesn’t matter what the time is. Right now, I am superman.

I shout to the others who are asleep in the other room, “We’ve got a call”. Less than a minute later they come stumbling out, dressing themselves as we go to our ambulance. The roar of the engine, the sound of the computer, the “beep, beep” that takes you into another world. The call is confirmed both on the computer and over the radio; a car crash. I am sitting in the back, preparing our gear, for a quick and smooth exit from the ambulance when we arrive on scene.

At this hour of the morning, there is never much conversation. Today was no exception. Not a word, other than the occasional grunt, complaining about the fact that we had once again been woken up at some ridiculous hour.

It is amazing how little you can think from the time you exit the back of the ambulance to the moment you get back to the station. A real credit to the training. It’s strange because I spent my entire childhood being told by my parents “If you don’t think, you can’t do anything”. That sure as hell is not true. I think the case is more “The less you think, the more you can do”. There is a saying in Magen David Adom: “Thoughts cause problems, problems cause deaths, deaths are bad – don’t think”.

I have been to many car crashes and seen my fair share of gruesome deaths. I cannot and will never be able to describe how it feels to feel totally helpless. To know that whatever you do, there is nothing you can do that will save a person’s life. I will tell you one thing however: it really puts things into perspective. People tell me frequently when I speak about my experiences in Magen David Adom, that I am a hero, a saviour, maybe even G-d. None of that is true after the adrenaline has worn off. For every single person whose life I might have changed, I still always remember those that I didn’t have any impact on, those to whom I made no difference.

My name is Josh Gershuny. I am an ordinary 22 year old post graduate. I am no different to any other young professional, apart from probably my choice of holiday activities. I am running the 2013 London Marathon for Magen David Adom. With your help, I can raise £2,000. With that money not only will you be providing an ambulance or first responder with a defribulator but you will also be playing a vital part in funding Israel’s only emergency medical response service. Without your help the organisation would cease to exist, and many people who on a daily basis need help, would go without it.

You can SAVE A LIFE, and you don’t even need to leave your office or home to do so.

I thank you in advance for supporting this truly amazing cause.

Thank you,

Josh Gershuny

Visit Chas’s blog here.