Eli CUp until a year and a half ago, the Lewises were the picture-perfect family. Yechezkel was learning, Tzila had an excellent job in a bank, and the five kids were happy and got along nicely with their peers. But all of that changed one year and a half ago when Tzila came home one day from work and almost fainted as she walked through the door.

Between heaving breaths, Tzila explained to Yechezkel that she was speaking to a customer in the bank when suddenly, she felt a piercing pain in her stomach. The pain was so intense that it reminded her of labor contractions. She quickly excused herself and rushed into a seperate room for privacy, where she tried to dial an ambulance. But her fingers wouldn’t stop shaking and she misdialed. A few minutes later, a colleague found Tzila in her distressed state and immediately gave her a ride home.

Immediately upon hearing the story, Yechezkel rushed his wife to the hospital. But soon after being admitted, the two received frustrating news: The doctors failed to find the source for Tzila’s unbearable pain. After checking into several more hospitals with the same frustrating outcome, the two came home exhausted, drained and unsure as to what to do next..

A year and a half after the incident, Tzila Lewis has finally received a diagnosis. Apparently, she is suffering from a rare intestinal disease. Though not life-threatening, the constant pain has completely crippled her as a mother and as a wife over the past year and a half. Tzila describes how she can no longer work, and spends most of her days and nights screaming in bed from the pain.

Not surprisingly, her condition has had its effect on the entire family.

“The poor thing is screaming in bed all day and night from the pain. And the hardest part for me is that I cannot help her– I am watching my wonderful wife suffer, and there’s literally nothing I can do,” describes Yechezkel.

“It’s a feeling that I don’t wish upon anyone.”

Unfortunately, the financial burden has now fallen squarely onto Yechezke’s shoulders and he describes how he is starting to struggle to support the family on his sole income.

“I am now trying to support the family, but it’s not enough without her….We just want to go back to being a happy family.”

Unfortunately, Tzila’s condition is chronic, and she and her family must learn how to make space for it in their lives. However, until she learns the tools to manage the pain enough to go back to work, they are in a financial crisis with five children under their wing and only one income. Described by his friends as a man who never asks for anything unless it is truly needed, Yechezkel has humbly reached out to the public for help. Donations collected here will directly help the Lewises pay for important necessities such as rent, tuition, and groceries. They have a long journey ahead of them, and financial assistance now will give them the stability and support that they need for the many challenging years down the road.