The story of an Israeli war veteran who went on to become a gold medal-winning Paralympian was told to 100 Magen David Adom UK patrons and supporters at a City Hall reception hosted by MDA UK with Braintree MP and London Assembly member James Cleverly.
Noam Gershony served in the IDF as a pilot. During the 2006 Lebanon War, his Apache helicopter collided with another helicopter, killing his co-pilot and leaving Mr Gershony severely injured. No one thought that he would survive. But after rehabilitation, he struck gold for Israel in the tennis tournament at the 2012 London Paralympics.
He said he had been fortunate that those who first arrived on the scene had called MDA.
"MDA's first treatments saved my life."