Wish Ambulance fulfills a boy’s dream to go horseback riding again

Idan Yaron, a boy with special needs near Haifa, Israel, recently celebrated his 17th birthday. Idan loves horses and horseback riding had become very therapeutic for him. However, the equestrian center he used to visit closed when coronavirus started and has not reopened.

“I decided I would try to surprise Idan by contacting Magen David Adom’s Wish Ambulance Program,” said his mother, Liat Yaron.

Liat enlisted the help of Senior EMT Itai Mazor who rides horses and was part of a What’s App group she belongs to. Itai and EMT Heli Biton surprised Idan at his home on his birthday, arriving in a decorated ambulance with two horses. They drove him to a horse farm in Kfar Bialik, a moshav in northern Israel, where he enjoyed riding horses for the day.

“It was a very special day for Idan and us,” said Itai. “Sometimes the simple things produce the greatest happiness. The smile on Idan’s face in the ambulance during the ride was worth it all.”

The ambulance Idan was driven in was sponsored by Janelle and Stuart Teger of Southfield, Michigan, in memory of Stuart’s parents.

The Magen David Adom Wish Ambulance Program began in 2009 and has fulfilled thousands of wishes for sick or hurt children and adults to date.