A few hours before hosting the annual fundraiser for "Me", an Israeli autism association, Rotem Israel posted on her Instagram account on Monday night her personal and moving family story about her cousin Noam, who suffers from low-functioning autism. For the first time, she shared with the surfers the complexity of his devoted care, and also shared the magic moments in her encounters with him.
"This is Iris, my beloved aunt, and this is Noam, her son. Noam, 26, with low-functioning autism. There aren't enough words to describe how much I love him, and his mother. Iris and her partner Amnon are role models for me. 26 years of coping and endless giving to their special child. They live in New York City, where the envelope for children on the spectrum is up to the age of 21. Noam is such a special soul in this world."
She went on to share what Noam's mother, her aunt, wrote four years ago. "For years I've been trying to understand even without words, that I'm trying to guess what makes you good, who does you good, what you like or don't like so much, when it hurts and where. I would like to look directly at you, deep into your good eyes, and tell you what I know in my heart that you know. I love you, Noam. I'll always be there for you."
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Israel then brought up words she had written on the subject from her point of view. "And that's how I've experienced Noam for years: an eternal child, full of energy and wisdom who filled every visit I made to New York with the sound of his footsteps on the floor at home, running early in the morning to his computer, on which he sits for hours and sings aloud all the Uzi Hitman songs by heart, or recites all the episodes of Sesame Street. A child who can't have an open closet, window or drawer next to him because he has to close it. A child who is excited at any age to dance with me and my sister in circles or sing Idan Raichel's "From the Depths" with a huge smile on his face, and especially a child who lives in a world of his own, which I wish I could visit from time to time. I love you, Noam."
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