Out of the blue

by Devorah Stieglitz

Mazal Tov, it’s a boy!! Gila and David were ecstatic to finally hear those words. The moment they were waiting for had arrived - the birth of their beautiful, healthy baby boy! For Aliza, Gila's one and a half year old, this was the happiest moment in her life-she knew that now she was getting a real baby to play with, no more dolls! Once visiting hours were over, David went on his way to make all the arrangments for the bris and for Gila's arrival home.

The bris was an unbelievably happy occasion. David instantly felt a deep connection to his new baby boy. He would wake up every night to watch his baby sleep, cover him again, and make sure he was ok.

A few weeks later, just as things seemed to settle down and life was beginning to take its normal course, Gila received a shocking phone call, David was hit by a car and had suffered serious head injuries. The doctors told her that in order for his brain to heal he must be constantly stimulated, therefore she should be with him as much as possible. Gila was by his side day and night, forced to leave her baby with friends and Aliza in daycare for longer hours. The doctors could not tell her when David was going to feel better; all they said was that these kinds of injuries take a long time to heal.

As long as David wasn’t working there was no income. Gila was very overwhelmed by all of the sudden expenses and medical bills. Their saving were quickly dwindling, she knew that it was just a matter of time before she could no longer afford Materna for her baby. That became her main concern, her main worry; she needed to know that she would have a way to feed her child - that nothing would get in the way of that. Gila heard about our Keren Eliyahu V'Esther Feed-A Baby program and shared her story with us.

Gila was devastated. She had no family to turn to and no income; she couldn't nurse her baby because she had to be in the hospital all day. “I truly hope you will be able to help me”, she wrote on her application for aid. "I am completely overwhelmed and I need to help to keep my baby fed...". American Friends of Yad Eliezer not only assisted Gila by providing her with vouchers so she could purchase the formula she desperately needed, but also helped with some of the urgent expenses she was faced with due to her husband's condition. 

Upon hearing the news, she replied "I can't stop crying now. This time, not due to worry, but due to gratitude."


 

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