How One Nurse Has Lit a Flame of Hope
We at Laniado UK are trying to buy Ziva Chanukah, Head Nurse of the Cancer Ward, at present for Chanukah! Can you donate £5 or more to help us?
- Join everyone in donating £5 for Ziva!
- You can email and thank Ziva personally. She would love to hear from you!
Ziva Chanukah, tells the following story:
“Tamar, a young mother of six from Hadera, fell victim to breast cancer and was treated at a local hospital. Following chemotherapy, her tumour marker test indicated that she would benefit from the drug Herceptin. At the time, Herceptin was not federally approved in Israel, nor would it would be included in the general basket of health care treatments for every citizen and was very expensive.
The cancer metastasised to the liver and her bones and Tamar was told she would she had six months to live.
Dejected and feeling hopeless, Tamar went home and began to compose letters to her children preparing them to be orphans, words that would be taken as her personal will and dreams for them. She asked her oldest child if he wouldn’t mind having his bar mitzvah early so that she could witness at least one simcha in her family.
Upon hearing the news, Tamar’s community rallied together to support her in her last few months – preparing meals, making arrangements for her children and their future support. One woman in the community then stood up and defiantly asked why hadn’t a second opinion been sought?
She brought Tamar to Laniado Hospital where I saw her initially and as she began to speak I realised that she was preparing to die. I said to her, ‘Tamar! Stop preparing to die. You have every reason to live and I will do everything in my power to have you live as long a life as possible!’
From then on, I took Tamar through all our workshops on positive thinking, laughter and art therapy to lift her mood and strengthen her mind and spirit. We follow the ethos of the founder who said that Laniado should improve the spiritual and physical wellbeing of each patient in tandem to create an optimum cure.
At the same time, the Herceptin drug become available and we were able to offer it to her. Tamar’s children became part of the cure and played a big part in shaping her positive outlook in life.
It is now 3.5 years later. Tamar is alive and still undergoing treatment but has lived to see two happy occasions in her family and her children bring her to the ward every day.”
Ziva would like your help. I spoke to her this week and her ward urgently needs 3 PCM Syringe Pumps to administer pain killers each costing £2400. If you can donate one, please do! It can be purchased direct from our website:
If you can donate something toward this Chanukah Gift (literally!) then please give whatever you can: It can be purchased direct from our website: If you can donate something toward this Chanukah Gift (literally!) then please give whatever you can:- Click here for our secure online donation form
Why not join all Laniado UK supporters nationwide in donating just £5 so we can buy Ziva all three machines for Chanukah. On behalf of Ziva, Tamar and all our cancer patients, we thank you for your help and being part of the Chanukah light, lifting spirits and healing souls.
