What if a person had signed up to help an organization and received a notice just as he had reached safety on October 7th? “Now?” he would ask incredulously. “Now?! Before I’ve even had a chance to recuperate. To heal. To process the trauma. Now?! When I’m paralyzed with fear. Terrified to take a step outside. Want only to curl up in a fetal position and cry. Now you ask me???!”
War in Israel: stem cell transplant
Noam received such a call. Some time ago, eons ago, in another world before October 7th , when life was safe and predictable, she had signed up with Ezer Mizion’s Bone Marrow Registry to be tested as a match for any cancer patient whose survival would depend on a stem cell transplant. She signed up and promptly forgot about it, continuing on with her busy life. With over one million in the database, she never expected to be called. But she was wrong. A woman in her thirties was facing a life-threatening disease. All treatments had been tried. She had one more chance to live. If a genetic match would be found, a stem cell transplant could save her life. Noam was that match. And so the call came in., The Ezer Mizion caller had no way of knowing that Noam had been at the infamous party. That was when Noam showed what she was made of. “Yes,” she answered without a moment’s hesitation. “When do you need me to be there?”
Later Noam was able to reflect on her thoughts at that crucial time. “For a long time I tried to understand how someone could be on the side of those who take life and it’s impossible to understand. The survivors can’t help wondering, “Why me? Why was I saved and so many around me were murdered? When I made the stem cell donation, I understood why I survived and why I try to live. It brings things into proportion, to feel that you are meaningful for another person.”
Yes, Noam. You were saved and you were fortunate to have an opportunity to give back almost immediately. Ezer Mizion wishes you a long life, full of meaning, full of giving back. A life in which you clearly know without a doubt why you were saved.
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Chaim had leukemia. He was just a young man but the specter of death loomed over him. He walked about in a world that would soon no longer be his. His doctor said his life could be saved. They needed to find a genetic match for him, someone who would donate stem cells to save his life. But that was absurd. Chaim knew that. How is it possible to find someone who is an exact DNA match to him when his own family was not a match. A tiny flutter of hope found its way into Chaim’s heart as the phone rang. It was Ezer Mizion. “They probably want to know if I want to take part in a trip or a party. Ezer Mizion is wonderful that way,” Chaim thought to himself. “They really are. But what I want is to live. Just to live!” He pressed ‘talk’. “This is Ezer Mizion. I have wonderful news for you.” Chaim held his breath. “We found a match! You’ll be getting the transplant! With Hashem’s help, you will live!”
War in Israel: “Your Abba was a great man”
Dr, Daniel Levy was the donor. A compassionate man who was always searching for ways to help others. A man who would, a short year later, run outside, at the risk of his own life, to provide medical assistance for the wounded during the Simchas Torah massacre. To save lives like he did for Chaim. He saved many lives that day but then it was all over. Dr Levy died helping others.
A meeting had been set up between Dr Levy and Chaim who had been so excited to meet the one who saved his life. He would hug him tight and try to express what it meant to him to have a second chance to live. They would remain friends – no, brothers – forever. But for Dr Levy, ‘forever’ was over. He would not be at the meeting but his wife and small kids would be there. Chaim bent down, level with the tiny face of his benefactor’s daughter, “It’s because of your Abba that I am alive,” he whispered. “Your Abba was a great man!”
