(JNS) An Israeli teenager was reunited with a team of medics who saved his life at birth at his bar mitzvah.

Medics spent a harrowing 10 minutes working to get his heart beating again after Shmuel Kovetzik was born.

Now 13-years-later in a heartwarming reunion, the team of medics were invited to his recent bar mitzvah celebration in Kfar Chabad, near Tel Aviv.

The responding team of paramedic Icho Leibovitz, medics Shnior Tsik and Oren Roni and paramedic student Mirit Halfon faced a complex and life-threatening situation when Kovetzik was born in 2010. He was in the breech position, meaning Kovetzik was positioned to come out feet first. 

Kovetzik was born unconscious and without a pulse, so the team attempted to resuscitate him.

Kovetzik was released from hospital a few months later and the medics from Magen David Adom were invited to celebrate the circumcision, during which baby boys are given their name.

Leibovitz recalled: “It was the first time in my career that I performed CPR on a baby... just a few minutes old.

“In those moments I was just thinking about how to work in the most professional way to save his life, and to my delight the difficult memory combines with the most joyful moments and the most exciting milestones of the family.”

Tsik, who lives in Kfar Chabad and was the first medic to arrive at the house on that fateful day, added: “I remember the event like today. It happened right before Rosh Hashanah, and it was a very difficult birth. 

“It was a very big miracle, we fought for Shmuel’s life, and I am very happy that we managed to save him.

“His birth was, to this day, one of my most complex and memorable events at MDA, and every time I see him and his family on the street I remember the story and get excited anew.”