Leah lived in a senior citizens’ home. Morning, noon and night. She knew there was a world ‘out there’ but it had been so long. So long since she had gone anywhere but from her room to the dining room and back again. Her husband lay peacefully in his final resting place and she remained alive, just barely so, disconnected from the one with whom she had shared her whole life and disconnected from the world they had traveled together. How she longed to sense his presence once again. Perhaps with their two children. A ‘family trip’ like the many they shared so long ago. But a trip to the cemetery was as likely as a trip to the moon. Leah resigned herself to living out her remaining years in room #306, the ‘cage’ that was her home now.
The Ezer Mizion ‘One Wish’ staff thought differently. A visit to her husband’s grave would re-unite her to her past life, would enable her to bring alive her individuality and connect her to her sense of self. They would discuss the family memories with her both before and after the trip. She would feel herself to be a person once again.
There remained the ‘minor’ problem of logistics. How to create a feasible, safe plan of travel for a wheelchair-bound senior holoocaust survivor. The Ezer Mizion Ambulance Fleet with its trained drivers was called into action. The myriad of details were ironed out and it wasn’t long before Leah found herself pouring out her heart at the grave of her husband, accompanied by her son and daughter. The three enjoyed a long visit with their husband/father and then were taken to a well-known café in Petach Tikvah. His presence still among them, they made a foursome as Leah chatted with her children about times gone by.
Leah’s children were deeply grateful for the one-time chance for their mother to leave the nursing home and to experience together the family bonding that had once been so strong. They expressed their gratitude to the Ambulance Division and the drivers for their punctuality, their courtesy and respect and for the warm smiles that added so much to the magic of fulfilling a dream!
Ezer Mizion provides services to over 660,000 of Israel’s population annually in addition to its Bone Marrow Registry which saves the lives of Jewish cancer patients the world over.
