One day after Shlomo S, together with his 9 children, got up from Shivah, he is walking his beloved daughter to the Chuppah. His wife, who passed away last week, will not be there by her daughter’s side. Let us join together and stand by Shlomo’s side be there for him during this bittersweet occasion.

The last year and a half have taken a tremendous emotional and financial toll on the family. Specialized treatments, housekeeping, therapies…. The response thus far has been overwhelming and we could not have done it without you. But so is the need. Please join us and give as generously as you can.

Milka’s Fund, a crowdfunding website, was established and is run by Yad Eliezer. This is a secure and transparent way to donate and directly help this family. Donate here and share this heartbreaking story.

Shlomo and Chana S had a beautiful and full life together with their family. Shlomo kept a very full schedule juggling three teaching jobs. Chana cared for the children and ran a daycare in her home. They both worked hard, but they had a lot of nachas from their 8 children. They lived frugally, and were careful to set aside a sum each month as a savings to marry off their older children.

A year and a half ago their lives were turned upside down when Chana was diagnosed with cancer. At the time of the diagnosis Chana was 22 weeks pregnant. She underwent surgery to deliver the baby as soon as it was safe to do so, and soon after underwent an additional surgery after that to remove the tumor. A rigorous round of treatments followed, including more surgeries and expensive experimental drugs, but nothing was able to defend Chana’s health from the terrible illness.

In the meantime Chana and Shlomo’s second daughter became engaged to a fine young man. Chana was unable to take her daughter shopping or do anything to prepare for the wedding. All she could do was hope and pray that she would live to see her daughter to her chuppa.

Chana is not able to work, in fact she is unable to care even for her own basic needs, and a private nurse has been employed for her care. Her prognosis is unclear and she has had some very close calls. Just a few weeks ago Chana passed out late at night. The emergency workers came to transfer her to the hospital and based on their grim faces, Shlomo said a tearful goodbye for what might have been the last time. He stayed with the small children at home, spending the night deep in prayer, as the nurse accompanied Chana to the hospital. His surprise and excitement knew no bounds when he got a call from her in the morning and heard her voice on the line.

Chana refuses to give up. She has overcome many challenges in her life, and believes that this too shall pass. She focuses her limited energy on her healing and her children. Shlomo has cut down on his work hours to care for the family, and has had the daunting task of financing the cost of Chana’s treatments, her nurse, and the extra expenses of childcare, and cooking and cleaning help for the older children. Another nurse has been hired to care for the newborn, who hardly knows his mother. As they do not own a car, they have already spent thousands of shekels just on taxis to and from the hospital. All of the money that they had set aside for their daughter’s wedding is long gone, and they are now straddled with an 80,000 shekel bank loan that they took out to cover the seemingly endless expenses. If that wasn’t enough, they haven’t been able to pay their mortgage, and the bank is threatening to foreclose on their home. As Chana is lying unable to move, and her daughter is preparing for her upcoming wedding, hotza’a la’poal – the loan officers are coming to their home and threatening to foreclose on their home and confiscate their belongings.

Throughout it all, Shlomo focuses only on what he needs to do next to keep the family afloat. When he came to the offices of Yad Eliezer to ask for help, he did not complain at all about his troubles, only asked for that we help him keep a roof over his family’s head, and help him go forward with his daughter’s wedding, which is scheduled to take place July 14th. The doctors are recommending that the wedding not be postponed so that the mother will be able to attend.

This perfectly normal and successful family stands to lose everything and be left without a roof over their heads.

Please donate generously and share this story. Let’s allow the S family to celebrate their daughter’s wedding with joy in their hearts, and keep their spirits up as they continue to fight for Chana’s life. Donate here