Lider was only 20 months old. So little, yet suffering so much. She was diagnosed with cancer of the nervous system and, for one year, there raged a battle for her life. Chemo. Radiation. Surgery. Pain that even Mommy’s kisses couldn’t make go away. 
Her parents, Sharon and Guy Dayan, suffered along with her. Ezer Mizion held their hands during this nightmare, offering rides to the hospital, hot meals for the parents, psychological counseling, even fun days for the family to share when Lider was feeling ok and always a shoulder to lean on and a caring, listening ear.
And then it was over. Lider succumbed to her illness. No more pain. No more tears. Just a dull numbness. Days without purpose. Drifting with no focus.
But the Dayans were made of strong stuff and fought their way out of the depression that engulfed them in a chokehold of hopelessness. They found their direction. They would help others. They decided to dedicate time regularly to assist the children in the Oncology Ward at the Petach Tikvah hospital, where their daughter was cared for with such devotion. Liat Lefkowitz, who was Lider’s preschool teacher, together with the director of another preschool, jumped on the bandwagon and volunteered to present Liat’s performance at the event in Beit Rishonim. The show, entitled “Trili-Liat – the Wacky Ganenet” was inspired by her experiences with Lider. All proceeds of the event were earmarked for purchase of costumes for the children hospitalized at the Oncology Ward.
In the past year since their daughter’s death, the Dayans have helped the Children’s Oncology Ward in many ways and Ezer Mizion continues to hold their hand. The Dayans do not feel that they can actually enter the ward. 
They work in tandem with Ezer Mizion whose staff and volunteers are constantly involved at Schneiders. “We’ll be there for you as long as you need us,” their sympathetic smile seems to say. “The sensitivity of Ezer Mizion has enabled us to gain strength. It is hard for us to even drive to Petach Tikvah,” Guy admits. “It takes us back to the time of Lider’s treatments. Maybe for the upcoming Purim, we’ll come for the first time to the Oncology Ward.”
