Israel 2026-07

Israel 13,

July 15, 2026,

Hi Everyone,

Last evening I decided to eat a light meal. I ate the usual soup at Maxim’s accompanied by my usual glasses of red wine. I had an orange and an apple saved from breakfast so I asked for a yogourt, mixed it with the fruit and made a fruit salad. Not bad for a guy who once boiled an egg and burned it.

I had a great team today with MDA, very efficient and kind to the patients. We had 3 cases of note as well as several cancellations for unknown reasons.

The 1st case was a 60 y/o lady who often comes to the hospital for a COPD exacerbation. This has in no way diminished her smoking habit. This time she had shortness of breath and a tightness in her throat due to perhaps an allergic reaction. She had quite a character and had us laughing all the time. She insisted on giving us candies. We brought her to the ambulance and initiated treatment with ventolin. Her condition improved rapidly and we transferred her to the hospital at a regular speed.

The 2nd case involved a 50 y/o worker who was suffering from minimal chest discomfort and palpitations on a construction site. We took a history and physical exam and placed him on an EKG monitor. His EKG was normal as were his VS. Nevertheless we transferred him to a hospital for monitoring, tropes, possibly an angiogram and holter monitor to rule out an arrhythmia.

The 3rd case was much more exciting. We were called to a rehab centre where a 70 y/o male patient who had suffered a stroke, was now presenting with the tonic and clonic contractions seen in acute epilepsy. He was unconscious of course. The team worked extremely quickly. We installed an IV and gave him an anti epileptic medication. We then placed an oro-pharyngeal tube in his mouth to keep him from swallowing his tongue and to help him breathe better. We gave him oxygen and monitored his EKG. We rushed him to the hospital with sirens blazing. A report was emailed to the hospital. The physicians were standing by, awaiting our arrival. A stroke can mean either an intracerebral clot or a bleed. A CT scan will tell the difference and ‘clot buster’ medication can be administered if a clot is present. Time is of the essence to limit the brain damage.

I am now siting in one of my favourite restaurants on Dizengoff Square where all the action is in Tel Aviv. Dizengoff Square is really a circle. In the middle of the square, there is a fountain lined with photos of the Israelis who we lost in the war. This is very similar to what I saw 2 years ago when pictures of the hostages were present.

Trump and Iran are still trading missiles with some falling on other Arab states. For the moment, Israel is sitting on the sidelines but that could change any minute. France is out in FIFA World Cup with England and Argentina advancing to the finals. Mesi is openly very pro Israel so it is obvious which team we are routing for.

Love,

Brian