I was sitting in the audience. Except it wasn’t an audience. An audience is when one group of people are watching a show put on by another group of people, each group living in a separate world. At this event, we were all sharing the same world, all one family.
A staff member made a speech saying that, although she has worked for Ezer Mizion for many years ,it wasn’t until her husband needed a bone marrow transplant that she truly realized what a wonderful and life saving organization this is . A donor was found in the US who had not long ago finished his service in the IDF and that boy, who was sitting at our table, went up to greet her and her husband. Like many other men there, I tried to hide my tears. .
So why am I mentioning this? My friend Salo, who was sitting at the same table as me, recently found himself in the same situation with his daughter needing a stem cell transplant to save her life. Anyone who has not experienced this cannot begin to imagine the devastation, the fears and helplessness. Unfortunately, very early on this year, my wife and I found ourselves in the same situation with our daughter.
Over the many, many months that we spent in the chemotherapy ward with her at Sheba Hospital, I always noticed an Ezer Mizion trolley dispensing coffee, cakes, cookies and most importantly a smile and lots of hope and encouragement. In addition to its life-saving bone marrow registry, Ezer Mizion provides support in so many ways for those of us facing cancer during this horrific period of our lives
After the second series of chemotherapy, my daughter had the little hair left on her head shaved one morning and came home that afternoon with a wig made from real hair. Another Ezer Mizion Division! She had gone along with six of her friends and the wonderful staff there turned what could have been a most terrible experience into an almost bearable experience….so thank you again for this and for the many rides to the hospital, for all those delicious, hot meals that provided such a boost, for the family vacations, for the birthday parties and, most of all, for being there when we so desperately needed you .
Well, another year has flown by and we are on the cusp of yet another wonderful day of golf and camaraderie. My wife and I will be will be making a generous donation via the web site link. I’m so much looking forward to the day and being part of the Ezer Mizion Family, sharing our worries, our triumphs with people that really understand and care.
Let’s all hope for a better year ahead for all of us and the country and I look forward to seeing you all again in a few weeks’ time
