{"id":4298,"date":"2017-11-22T12:43:55","date_gmt":"2017-11-22T17:43:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ezermizion.org\/blog\/?p=4298"},"modified":"2017-11-22T14:25:36","modified_gmt":"2017-11-22T19:25:36","slug":"a-journey-we-didnt-plan-part-3-taken-from-the-diary-of-nechama-spielman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ezermizion.org\/blog\/a-journey-we-didnt-plan-part-3-taken-from-the-diary-of-nechama-spielman\/","title":{"rendered":"A Journey We Didn\u2019t Plan Part 3 of a 4-part Series taken from the diary of Nechama Spielman"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"diary<\/a>
Diary of the wife of a cancer patient as she journeys through the nightmare that has overtaken her life<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Recap: Nechama has been dealing with her husband\u2019s cancer<\/em><\/p>\n

Hodu La\u2019Shem (thank G-d). The radiation treatments have helped a lot. The tumor has shrunk which qualifies us for surgery. The remarkable precision of the timing gives us a special feeling. We are slated to go in for surgery right after Rosh Hashanah and to come home for Sukkot.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Shaarei Tzedek Hospital where Ezer Mizion has a major presence in providing support for cancer patients and others dealing with serious illness.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

We especially love the mitzvahs of Sukkot, and Yigal was really bothered by the thought that he wouldn\u2019t be able to build our sukkah, the very first year in our new house. With superhuman effort and a lot of help (Help? Yes, there is such a word! We are trying to make friends with it, to learn it, to give ourselves over to it\u2026), Yigal builds a sukkah that will wait for us patiently until we come back. We make our way to Shaare Zedek. Here, all eight of our children were born. We are used to passing through the doorway of this hospital and taking the elevator straight up to the delivery rooms. This time, it\u2019s so different\u2026<\/p>\n

Operation. Major. Complicated. Challenging.<\/p>\n

Hours of waiting. Tehillim <\/em>being said in all corners of the country. From \u201cplain Yigal,\u201d he has become \u201cYigal ben Yaffa.\u201d This name rolls off the tongues of so many people, who, with their prayers, have become a part of us. Eighteen books of Tehillim <\/em>had been recited by the time the doctor came out to tell us that everything went well. Shvach l\u2019Borei Olom (Praised be G-d)! We experience a very special Yom Kippur in Shaare Zedek. The bet knesset (synagogue) <\/em>is full of people, of flaming prayers: \u201cRemember us to life, O King who desires life, and seal us in the Book of Life\u2026 Our Father , our King! Send a speedy recovery!… Listen to our voice, have compassion on us! \u2026 Answer us!\u201d<\/p>\n

Hot tears, so, so close to the Throne of Glory. He Who hears the sound of our cry \u2013 will You make Your voice heard, He Who knows all hidden things? Healer of all flesh, Father of mercy, will You have mercy on us?<\/p>\n

\"\"
7 days to deepen our feelings toward our Creator,. coming to acceptance of the cancer, amid the holiness of the sukah<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The heart soars. The body is weak. We\u2019re going home. Our sweet, holy sukkah greets us. Yigal goes into it and does not come out for seven days. \u201cSpread upon us the sukkah of your peace, a sukkah of mercy, of life, and of peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ezer Mizion is everywhere. Meals. Advice. A pat on the shoulder. Rides to and from the clinic. Babysitting. Cleaning help. A volunteer to take the kids on a fun trip. A big brother for the kids to share their feelings with. Fun events for the family to remind us what family time is like\u2026<\/p>\n

The body gradually convalesces from the operation, gets stronger, prepares itself for the next objective. Chemo! A half year of it\u2026<\/p>\n

Again, trips to the hospital. Again, we leave brave children behind. Again, the body is weakened. Very. The journey looks longer than ever. How fortunate that we have our togetherness, we have each other, and a big, supportive family to fill us with strength.<\/p>\n

\"pr<\/a>
Ezer Mizion provides rides for the physically and respiratory challenged to and from the hospital and clinic cost-free. Drivers are trained to respond to emergencies and provide professional care until the hospital is reached.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Ezer Mizion driver \u2013 he\u2019s so much more than a driver –\u00a0 picks us up, imparting his own brand of strength. He drops us off at Ezer Mizion\u2019s guest home where anything we can possibly want is available including therapy to help us cope. There we recuperate until the next round. Again and again and again\u2026<\/p>\n

To be continued.<\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"pinterest\"<\/a>\"linkedin\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Recap: Nechama has been dealing with her husband\u2019s cancer Hodu La\u2019Shem (thank G-d). The radiation treatments have helped a lot. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,1],"tags":[4,930,972,971],"class_list":["post-4298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cancer-support-division","category-ezer-mizion","tag-cancer","tag-cancer-patients","tag-serious-illness","tag-support-for-cancer-patients"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ezermizion.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4298","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ezermizion.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ezermizion.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ezermizion.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ezermizion.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4298"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/ezermizion.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4298\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4304,"href":"http:\/\/ezermizion.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4298\/revisions\/4304"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ezermizion.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ezermizion.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ezermizion.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}