Ira's Insight

In our life, there are some moments which turn into stories that we collect, remember, and share with our friends. Such moments become very prominent for us and remind us how it is sometimes important to reach out your hand of help to another person in need. One of such stories has happened with me recently. It was a very important moment about which I will remember and would like to share with you.

This is a story about a Ukrainian 7-year-old girl, Sasha, who is suffering from a rare disorder - arthrogryposis. This congenital disorder is characterized by multiple joint contractures. Sasha has one of the most severe cases of this disorder. It impairs her cardiac and respiratory function and causes pain in her chest and back. Physically, Sasha can’t do many things as children of her age. She can’t walk, she can’t manipulate with her hands well, but this little girl can dream. She dreams to be a princess, a bat-woman, an astronaut, and the biggest dream of hers is to be able to go to school as all children of her age.

Sasha has been a patient of MUCH Massage Clinic for a long time. Massage treatment that she has regularly at the clinic helps her to maintain her physical condition but it can’t improve joint alignment. Sasha’s mother has done much investigation about the disorder of her daughter and found out that it is treatable. In our country, doctors are not so experienced in such operations and can’t give any guarantee that the operations on Sasha’s joints will be successful. But, in Israel, there is a special clinic where doctors can help Sasha. It is specialized on such kind of disorder as Sasha has.

The first step for Sasha to be operated on her joints is to go to Israel and have an examination by council of doctors who can determine how many operations she should have. It is enough very expensive for a mother who has a disabled child to save some money to buy tickets to Israel, to pay for the staying at the hotel and the examination of her daughter. Sasha’s mother could borrow only part of the whole sum.

Last week, late in the evening when I was ready to go home, Mark called me and said that MUCH had approved to help Sasha’s mother with the rest of the sum for the trip to Israel. I was really overwhelmed. At once, I made a call to Sasha’s mother and shared this piece of wonderful news. After my words, I didn’t hear anything, just silence and then the mother said: “I don’t have any words to express what I feel now. Your words are a miracle for me because, before your call, I was ready to give up on any hope to collect enough money for the examination of my daughter.”

I think it was Mother Teresa who said: “I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world.”

My heart is full of praise to God that He has sent the right people in the right moment to help this little child make a first step toward her better future, and for her mother to see how dreams can become miracles.

Until next time,
Ira