When a critically ill infant was in urgent need of a flight from Israel to Florida for a life-saving surgery, Kanfei Chaim and Hatzalah of South Florida teamed up for an almost unbelievable act of chesed that resulted in the child’s ability to survive.

The one-month-old baby, born with a rare, life-threatening birth defect that prevents her from breathing on her own, required a transfer from Schneider Children’s Medical Center in Tel Aviv to Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida, where doctors were waiting to provide her the procedure Israeli doctors said they couldn’t do, warning that the child would die if she wasn’t provided doctors who could save her.

Funds to pay for the flight’s expenses were raised by Kanfei Chayim, an organization that uses people’s donated credit card miles to pay for medical-related travel expenses for families in need. Leading the mission were Dr. Seth Kurtz of Monsey, Dr. Shlomo Gensler, and David Sofer of Kanfei Chayim.

United Hatzolah volunteers completed the roughly 15-minute transfer to Ben Gurion airport, at which point American volunteer doctors and flight medics took over, caring for the child on the lengthy flight to Miami International Airport.

Once they landed in Florida, Hatzalah of South Florida took over, with a team of medics taking the ill child on the 5-hour journey from Miami International Airport to the hospital in St. Petersburg.

At the hospital, a team of world-renowned doctors performed surgery on the child, resolving the birth defect that threatened her life.

“This was a life-saving mission that required seamless collaboration between numerous selfless individuals,” a person intimately involved with the complex transfer told YWN. “The entirety of this possibly unprecedented mission went off without a hitch and Be’ezras Hashem this child will not only live, but live a long, healthy and normal life.”

“We are deeply thankful to everyone involved in this operation, especially El Al Airlines who accommodated us at every step of the way,” he added.

נא ללמוד ולהתפלל בעבור הילדה נועה בת אדוה

To donate to the life-saving work of Kanfei Chaim, click here.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)