emotional therapy – Ezer Mizion

Staff Guidance

pr depression — Cancer: imprisonment in a nightmare

Cancer is devastating. For the patient and for the whole family. A typical scenario involves a young mother. Her husband is traumatized. His world has collapsed. He is too young to even fathom the possibility of death. His wife is – was – vibrant, full of life. He can’t even utter the D- word. And amid the horror of grappling with what cannot – please, G-d, please – will not happen, he also has to cope with homework, laundry, the full gamut of running a home.

And the kids? They are utterly confused, terrified to leave their home each day. Some will sleep in the hallway outside Mommy’s door somehow feeling that their presence will ensure Mommy’s being there in the morning. Others are afraid to step outside on the ground for fear of stepping on someone who has died. Guilt, anger, terror, dread, confusion all entangled inside a vulnerable, bewildered child. Continue reading Staff Guidance

Cancer Support: Being on the Giving End

pr bldg — Ezer Mizion with Its Many Divisions including Cancer Support

Rivi has spent the last two hours in her kitchen running from sink to counter, fridge to oven. The smells are mouth-watering. Roast chicken, potato kugel…just like you and me. What’s different, you ask. The difference is the interruptions. Her cell phone seems attached to her ear. A cancer patient calls and is desperate for a ride to the clinic. Her planned transportation fell through and missing her appointment is not an option. She’s crying. Can Rivi help? Chicken breast in one hand, Transportation Roster in the other, she scrolls down, makes first call. Negative. Second. Third. Bingo. A volunteer is able to drop everything and make the trip. Back to the schnitzel. But only until the next call. Mrs. D. was recently diagnosed with cancer. The family is falling apart. There’s no food for Shabbos. The father had planned on eating cheese with challa for the seudos. More than that he couldn’t handle. Can anything be done? Schnitzel waits patiently on the counter while another roster – this time of volunteers to prepare meals – is consulted. Continue reading Cancer Support: Being on the Giving End

A Letter that Belongs to You, Our Friends and Supporters

Dear Ezer Mizion:

Shalom u’verachah!

I want to express my profound gratitude to the important chessed organization, Ezer Mizion.

Two and a half years ago, my mother was stricken with cancer. She battled the illness for two years, until she passed on. Continue reading A Letter that Belongs to You, Our Friends and Supporters

A Letter Meant for Your, Our Dear Friends and Supporters

Dear Tamar,

I consider it my privilege to express to you some of the enormous gratitude I have towards Ezer Mizion, and in particular, to Ophira Taylor and the entire staff of the chareidi Cancer Patient Support Division, headed by Blumi Willner. After already having lent your support to my family during my husband’s illness, you went on to help me personally by funding emotional therapy. Over the last few months, I underwent two series of therapy based on the “Journey” approach with Ayala Garbi, as arranged by the trusty intervention of Ezer Mizion’s Donald Berman Rehabilitation Center.

The offer to receive therapy in itself, after my husband finished his course of chemotherapy and reached a “hiatus,” moved and heartened me very much. Continue reading A Letter Meant for Your, Our Dear Friends and Supporters