By Gracie Bonds Staples
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Copyright 2007 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
NORCROSS, Ga. — Sheri Whiteman always knew there was a lot of good to be done in the world, but she never figured on finding her role on the door of an ambulance that had carried her husband across the Israeli desert.
Whiteman saw an inscription that said the ambulance had been donated and knew she, too, had to buy one for the humanitarian group caring for her husband, who was having a heart attack.
As soon as they returned home to Norcross from Israel that summer, they sent out letters to friends and family members detailing their ordeal. To show their appreciation for the care Dr. David Whiteman received, they wanted to purchase an ambulance for the Magen David Adom organization, the Israeli equivalent of the Red Cross.
Thus began a yearlong campaign to raise the $75,000 needed to buy a state-of-the-art ambulance.
The organization provides emergency medical care and humanitarian assistance for the entire nation, regardless of nationality, race or religion.
Although mandated by the Israeli Parliament, the organization receives no money from the government, said Sybil Weingast, assistant executive vice president for development for American Friends of Magen David Adom, based in New York City.
Ambulances are vitally needed, she said, to respond to the medical needs of the entire country but particularly to the areas of Israel bordering the Gaza Strip, such as Sderot, a frequent target of rocket attacks.
“At one time we dispatched 40 ambulances in one day to that particular area,” Weingast said.
Donations make the group’s service possible, she said.
“That’s why we’re very grateful to the Whitemans and to their friends for making this ambulance possible,” she said. “It will save countless lives in Israel.”
David Whiteman, a plastic surgeon from Norcross, is sure a donated ambulance saved his life.
It happened in June 2006, when the Whitemans, their two children and two other families traveled to Israel for a two-week vacation.
Sheri and David were settling down for the night when David began struggling to catch his breath.
Maybe he was allergic to the dust or the camels they’d taken across the Negev Desert, he thought to himself.
Minutes later, a crushing pain hit his chest.
“I need to get to a hospital,” he said.
It took 25 minutes to drive across the desert to the small town of Arad and the nearest ambulance stand, where they were met by paramedics.
Inside the well-equipped ambulance, they were able to run a full cardiogram, determining that Dr. Whiteman was having a heart attack. The nearest hospital was 45 minutes away in B’eer Sheva.
Dr. Whiteman began to pray. He felt lucky. Being a Jew and praying in Israel, he thought to himself, “had to be like making a local call, a direct line to God.”
Halfway to the hospital, the driver pulled to the side of the road so they could repeat the cardiogram, which couldn’t be done in a moving vehicle. Dr. Whiteman’s heart looked worse.
They pulled into the medical center and everyone jumped out. That’s when Sheri Whiteman saw the inscription on the outside of the ambulance and let out a scream of revelation.
“That’s what we’re going to do,” she said. “We’re going to buy an ambulance.”
In a small-world moment, she was stunned that it had been donated in honor of Natalie and Manny Charach, a couple she knew while growing up in West Bloomfield, Mich.
“Their donation,” she said, “made David’s rescue possible.”
A year later, Dr. Whiteman said, thanks to the care he received in Israel, they have been fortunate enough to raise money and pay it forward.
In addition to purchasing the ambulance, the Whitemans hope to form a local chapter of Magen David Adom and ultimately adopt the Arad Emergency Medical Station.
On Tuesday, the Whitemans held a dedication ceremony at the Alfred and Adele Davis Academy, where students raised more than $500.
“We’ll never know who it helps,” Dr. Whiteman said, “but it’ll help someone.”