People living in Israel have almost forgotten what normal life is like. Every day brings new crises. The Soroka Hospital was hit. A hospital! The situation could have been so much worse but even so, the air was filled with panic. The Ezer Mizion network of volunteers were notified, ”Flood the ER with refreshments and smiles. These people are traumatized and need all the comfort we can give them.” Naftali Kober Director of the Southern Region, met with the administration and offered ambulances for evacuation, medical equipment, meals, whatever they need. “I am surrounded by destruction. Everything is broken. An Ezer Mizion Refreshment Cart sadly lies in a corner, its days of comforting others over. ”
Amid the turmoil, unrelated needs still must be met. Between air raid sirens, Ezer Mizon ambulances continue to transport people who are fighting serious illness. Among so many others, the Farajun Ambulance did a logistically complex transport for an end stage terminal cancer patient from Wolfson Hospital in Holon to a hospice in Beit Shemesh.
Maccabi HMO has reached out to Ezer Mizion’s Linked to Life whatsapp network to insure deliveries of vital meds to evacuees and has given authorization to escalate and relay incoming requests to Maccabi Pharmacies as needed. The phones do not stop buzzing with frightened ill or elderly evacuees as they reach the end of their med supply and are helpless in procuring a refill.
Some stories leave us shaking. Natasya, a precious 7-year-old had come from Odessa to continue her battle against leukemia. Ezer Mizion had held her hand throughout her stay, helping the family in so many ways. Ezer Mizion’s LegoMan was her special friend. .” Every time I visited, she lit up with joy,” wept Maor Cohen, the LegoMan. “Natasya went through a very tough medical journey, and Lego was something truly special for her. She would sit and build for hours, and each time I came, she couldn’t wait to show me what she made. A little girl in a foreign country, speaking a foreign language—Lego became her way to connect, to communicate, connecting her to the outside world.”
Her doctor recommended a stem cell transplant and a DNA matching donor was found in the Ezer Mizion Registry. Her future looked bright. And then Bat Yam happened. She and her family were among the victims. A child who came in search of life… lost her life in the country that was to be her savior.”
Amid the tears are many moments of joy at what can be accomplished by some in the face of crisis. Transplants are taking place in spite of the horrors. A student from Ramat Gan refused to give up her right to save lives, even amid the complex security situation. She spent the night in a safe shelter at Ezer Mizion so the stem cell collection could be done first thing in the morning and the unit safely shipped off.
Another donor celebrated his 20th birthday in the bomb shelter at Ezer Mizion, by donating his stem cells and giving a patient a second chance at life. Happy birthday, hero!
And a third experienced her brother’s house being destroyed by a direct missile strike. Just three months ago, she lost her aunt to cancer. And still—between one siren and the next, she showed up to donate.
War didn’t stop them! For many, trauma doesn’t traumatize. It brings out the best from deep inside the soul of a Jew.
