The Ezer Mizion David and Sara Farajun Collection Center enables Ezer Mizion to avoid sending a potential donor to hospitals and allows the organization to handle stem cell transplants on site. The donor is treated like a king, placed in a comfortable setting and his every personal request, if at all possible, is met. The atmosphere is one of excitement at the opportunity of saving a life, sometimes a bit of nervousness but always tremendous joy.
Certainly not the norm were the pair who recently entered. It was a father and son. The son would be donating his stem cells and the father accompanied him. As they entered, the tears began to flow. It was the father, visibly moved, while the son looked on as puzzled as the staff members. Tears? Pain? Why?
When he was able to speak, the father tried to explain. The Collection Center is new but I remember Oranit, where the Collection Center is housed, from way back. It was our home. It was the place from where we drew strength. It was an oasis of happiness amid the blackness of a horrific nightmare.
It all happened eighteen years ago. Your sister was four years old, an adorable little kid, mischievous and angelic like so many kids her age. Everything was perfectly normal and we were a happy family until we heard the news and our world came crashing down. A monster named Cancer had entered our lives. We couldn’t eat. We couldn’t sleep. All we could do was cry. It was here, surrounded by these very same walls, that we found encouragement. The staff embraced us in their love, gave us strength to cope, imbued us with hope and even made us smile. Not once but every day. Always. Until her recovery.
Here were professionals there when we needed to cry and somehow, when we would exit the office, the tears had been replaced with courage. There was therapy for your sister, therapy in so many forms. The LegoMan would help her create a masterpiece, empowering her with a ‘Yes, I can!” feeling. There were stories, music, arts ‘n’ crafts sessions given by trained therapists. And the all-time favorite: the Petting Zoo where a child can care for a small animal. There were birthday parties, trips, summer camp for the whole family. Everything spiced with understanding and caring by the staff who reached out to us, held our hand and gave us strength in our struggle, preventing us from falling into an abyss of despair.
This had been our home and now I am back. This time at the opposite end, the giving end. This time I am here with my son who will be providing hope for another family, a family facing the specter of death. Like we, so many years ago, they have grappled with the fear of losing someone they love and it is you, my son, who will be shoring up the stronghold of the family unit. It is you who will be saving a life.
