[VIDEO AND PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE]
After 7 months of treatment for a hematological disease, a young Syrian girl returned home. On Monday, 18 Menachem Av her new Israeli friends held a farewell party and presented her with many gifts, including a backpack for first grade—in hope that her school is still standing.
Rambam Health Care Campus has treated 140 Syrian civilians, men, women and children over the past three years. However, the departure of a six-year-old girl, “B”, was especially emotional for everyone. Wearing a white dress, white shoes, and a little silver crown, “B” was the guest of honor at a farewell party held by an entire department, where Jews, Muslims, Christians, and Druse stood together with tears in their eyes, surrounding her with love and concern for the future that awaits her.
“B” arrived at the Ruth Rappaport Children’s Hospital in Rambam seven months ago, in early February 2016, a small, scared, and wounded child. Once she recovered from the injuries that brought her across the border to Israel, the medical team noted from her blood tests that she suffered from a blood disease related to poor bone marrow function. For Israeli children with this disease, the treatment is straightforward and generally yields good results. A bone marrow donor is found, the child is isolated from infection, the bone marrow transplant is performed and, if all goes well, the child recovers. For a Syrian child, however, the entire process is much more complex.
At this point, the Israeli government stepped in to help “B”’s medical team, led by Dr. Irena Zeidman and Dr. Ayelet Ben-Barak. They managed to reach the child’s relatives in Syria and bring back blood samples from several family members, which would indicate if a potential donor could be found among them. “I’ll never forget when they first brought in those test tubes, discreetly wrapped in dish towels,” recalls Iris Porat, one of the nurses who cared for “B” throughout her hospitalization.
Happily, “B”’s brother was a perfect match. With the help of the Israeli government, “B”’s brother crossed the border from Syria and was brought to Rambam. It took two weeks to complete the bone marrow donation, after which he returned home while “B” and her mother remained in the department, while they and the doctors waited to see if the transplant had succeeded.
It wasn’t easy for the mother and daughter, who had arrived from what is still considered an enemy country, to spend more than half a year completely cut off from their family. Grace Yaakov, a social worker in the Pediatric Oncology Department, spared no effort to create an impressive support system for the two. Non-profits from the Arab sector, as well as parents of Jewish and Arab patients—all, did their part to support “B”, who sometimes spent weeks in isolation. They showered her with clothing, home-cooked food, books, movies, and games—anything to help the two feel more at home. “B” captured everyone’s hearts with her clever, happy, and curious personality. She especially enjoyed the holiday celebrations and even dressed up in costume for Purim. She also lost no opportunity to share how much she missed her siblings and the spring near her small village, somewhere in the battle zone in Syria.
On Tuesday, “B’”s hospitalization in Israel came to an end. The happy, smiling girl, who confided that she dreams of one day becoming a fashion designer, entered a room with tables of cakes and gifts, the sound of clapping, and the drumming of traditional Arab darbuka drums. A slideshow of photos from “B”’s time at Rambam was shown, and Ashwak El-rabia, an Arab non-profit that assists children with cancer, gave her a tablet in which she could store her memories and a backpack for her first year of school. After all the parting messages, some of which were painstakingly read in Arabic by Jewish doctors and nurses, the mother asked to read her own thank you wishes. In a small voice, she said “I would lie if I said that I expected the kind of humanity I discovered here. I am grateful for your care and sensitivity; may God protect you. And we will always remember what you did for us.”
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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One Response
How touching. Let’s hope she doesn’t reappear to attack staff as did the Arab girl who had heart surgery. But when resources are stretched to the limit and health care if you don’t have a hafnaya (referral) is outrageously expensive in the ER, why are we helping Syrians? Don’t give me humanitarian stuff, whatever Israel does to help other countries it’s conveniently ignored. It’s nice she was treated, but honestly… try helping our own citizens a bit more.