Some say that one of the most painful parts of a loved one battling cancer is the suspense. “How long will the treatments take? Will they be effective? Will the person I love be here with me in a year? A month? A week?”
For the Kahana family of Bnei Brak, however, there was no suspense. Though their mother Rivka fought cancer for 4 long years, she did not tell any of them she was sick. They knew her only as ‘weak.’
In what seems impossibly heroic, Rivka continued to raise her 12 children without any mention of her own cancer or pain for four years. She worked as a teacher in a high school for girls, and she even went in to work on the day she died.
Though she spared her children the pain of knowing her diagnosis, her passing was a monumental shock. Five of her twelve children are still young & living at home, and relied on her for all of their needs. A shock of this proportion simply cannot be recovered from.
The Kahana family is now desperately seeking financial help, so that they can recover from their medical debts, pay their basic bills, and replace Rivka’s income until they are once again able to cope.
Rivka Kahana was an immeasurably strong and selfless woman, whose legacy would be most honored by helping those she loved most: Her children.
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