The holiday of Hanukkah that we will mark starting today (Sunday) is the holiday of miracles.
As such, "Israel Today" with five stories that took place against all odds.
Talia returned to preterm birth a year after giving birth
Talia Edri, Photo: Dudu Greenspan
Talia Edri was born on Hanukkah last year at Soroka Hospital.
She was born prematurely at week 27, and after a lengthy hospitalization the medical staff was able to save her life, and she was released to her home four months later.
They celebrated her first birthday in the preterm ward at Soroka, where they closed the miracle circle.
Little Talia was born weighing 900 grams. Her mother, Sapir, says: "We lived here for four months from morning to evening, I kept calling Pegia to ask what was wrong with my daughter, four months in intensive care and then in the women's ward. It was not an easy time, you see the girl in the most difficult situation - and everyone tries to do "For her, everything. We were full of hope and prayed. At the moment of release, it was like a dream I did not believe would come."
After the early birth Talia underwent a difficult hospitalization, mainly due to problems with lung function. She was anesthetized and breathing. "Today we look at it and come out strengthened, we went through something I do not want more women to experience. But those who have gone through something like that look at life a little differently - nothing is taken for granted and can always be worse."
"How much strength was given to my daughter here," says Grandma Lucy, Sapir's mother.
"As I entered the premature everything floated, until now I remember being told, 'Worst of all, come. Three months I am out the door, waiting to see my granddaughter. Thank God he gave the team here the power. There are miracles and one has to believe in strong faith." .
Dr. Kayla Marx, a senior physiotherapist at Soroka who treated Talia: "It is a pleasure to meet Talia today at the age of one and to see her healthy and smiling."
Experienced first aid
Sarah Tankman,
Seven years ago, Sarah Tankman went through a quiet birth, when she was in her fifth month of pregnancy with twins.
When she complained of severe pain to the doctors, they claimed that everything was fine and sent her to "relax and drink a glass of water".
Tankman shares that "I realized the situation was unusual, and the disaster happened immediately afterwards."
As part of dealing with the loss, Sarah began reading about the treatment of pain in an attempt to understand why her serious complaints were ignored.
"I was drawn to the issue of gender and health and found that when men and women complain of the same pain - women are more likely to encounter mistrust and contempt, not necessarily from a deliberate place but from stereotypes about 'emotional and exaggerated' women, while here there are consequences for life and death."
Grandma fried the biggest pancake in the world
Sarah's personal circle closed with great joy: despite the loss Sarah did not give up and managed to become a mother - today she has two girls: one adopted 4 years old and one who brought with her friend from surrogacy, one and a half years old.
"It's no less than a miracle," she says.
Five years ago, Tankman founded the "Healthy Foundation," a lobby for women that works with the education system.
"I worked through the difficult process I went through. We examine what bothers women and build it into concrete recommendations with health funds, the Ministry of Health, legislation and more. For example - intimate gynecological examinations that lacked clear procedures," concludes Sarah happily.
"The health care system does not always provide tools for communication in intimate situations. The foundation is a crazy victory, there is a team of 5 women and we have already managed 30 projects. I did not dream of having something like this."
Heart in transplant and motherhood thanks to surrogacy
Hagit Forsher, Photo: Jonathan Shaul
Hagit Forsher, 45, has suffered for years from an inherited heart muscle disease.
Her life trajectory was riddled with upheavals, but her mental strength and determination led her to a new and happy path.
"When I was 29 I had cardiac arrest. After prolonged resuscitation I was anesthetized and respirated in intensive care and underwent rehabilitation. I was sent to the US to wait for a heart transplant.
"I left my job and my apartment and moved to New Orleans. I waited nine months for a transplant, which was on Yom Kippur. At the 'All Vows' prayer, I went into the operating room."
After the successful transplant, Hagit stayed at the New Orleans Hospital for six months for follow-up, where she began rehabilitation and guidance for a healthy lifestyle: "About two years after the transplant, in 2017, I already participated in the Transplant Olympics, which was a scholarship in Spain. And also in the 400m freestyle.
In 2019 I was at the Olympics in Newcastle, England.
I participated in the 200m freestyle and won a bronze medal and in the 400m freestyle I won a silver medal. "
Hagit was not satisfied with the impressive sporting achievements.
She got married three years ago and today she is close to fulfilling her biggest dream: "It has always been my dream to be a mother. There were days I did not believe I would fulfill it. I realized I would have to go to a surrogate because I am not allowed to get pregnant, Who wanted to give this gift to another woman.We went through a beautiful and fulfilling journey together.
"With the help of the name, we are expecting a baby. We are waiting in anticipation and full of appreciation for the Creator of the world and all the good people who helped us throughout the process."
The ball went in and out
Elon Lambruso, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
"It took me two seconds to understand that I was shot. I felt a thud in my leg and started running backwards, shouting 'Shoot me, shoot me.' The guardian of the walls.
Elon, who celebrated his 21st birthday this week, is already on release leave.
After being wounded he underwent rehabilitation - and insisted on returning and ending his combat service in the 202nd Battalion, which he defines as a "real miracle".
During the operation, Elon, a resident of Jerusalem who immigrated to Israel with his family at the age of 5, jumped with his friends in the Qalqilya sector, where they faced major disturbances.
"We started scattering the crowds," he says of the moments before he was injured.
"One of my friends fired into the air to deter the rioters and then someone from the side shot at me. We were always told by intelligence alerts that it was a possibility, but who believed it would really happen. Most of the protesters were children, we did not expect there to be a shooting."
"Within seven seconds they put a first fix on me and another friend dragged me 500 meters back. A mess started, the connection explodes in speech and I hear everything in the headset. While they were dragging me I reported 'hot hammer, I was hit'."
He was taken to Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba with his condition defined as moderate, for fear that a main artery in his leg was injured. Fortunately, in the end his injury was not so severe. "I had a miracle, the ball went in and out."
Although he was not obligated to return to combat service, Elon decided he wanted to end the service.
"I wanted to get back to finishing with the guys. They are my second family, and not as a cliché."
For him, the injury is a sign from heaven.
"Sometimes warriors have a hard time and they say half jokingly 'I wish I could get a bullet, that the suffering will end.'
We came to banish darkness
Ravid Aharon,
For only one month, Ravid Aharon was in Carmel's kindergarten in Rosh HaAyin, and this experience will remain with him for the rest of his life.
Ravid, now 3 and 3 months old, joined Carmel Kindergarten when he was only three months old.
His mother Nirit says: "Very quickly his behavior changed. Suddenly he began to fear, tremble, shout non-stop. He went back in development, no longer smiled and did not look me in the eyes.
"One day I got a message from Carmel to come pick up the boy because he was vomiting. They put him on the trampoline, and he doesn't even know how to sit. He was dirty and vomiting. She put a diaper around his mouth. She said she was educating him not to vomit."
Nirit took Ravid out of kindergarten immediately, and at the age of two and a half he was diagnosed with the autistic continuum and suffered from complex trauma.
"Autism is something innate, but it takes a serious trigger for it to erupt like in Ravid. And there is also the post-trauma. He was in her kindergarten for barely a month, and I have no way of saying how sorry I am for that."
But Ravid has made an amazing change, and since then he has been educated in a flower garden for special education.
"He came in scared, not looking into his eyes and not talking. The staff did a wonderful job with him. He talks, smiles, laughs, tells what he's going through.
"He has re-learned to trust people, to rejoice and play like all children. The kindergarten has all the tools and healers and they do a great job. Every day I thank the Creator of the world for putting him there."
Participated in the preparation of the article: Yuri Yalon, Dan Lavie, Hanan Greenwood, Ilya Yagurov, Yaron Doron
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