Israel Awareness

NU, SO WHAT’S NEW IN ISRAEL?

Summer’s about over…did it ever arrive? Welcome back to the column. Its purpose is to
share information about life in Israel that is not part of yet another emotional newspaper
headline. Enjoy….

So….what’s doing ….
WITH AMY?

You (yes, YOU) may know her. Her name is Amy. She was a Montrealer until she and
her sister married Israeli brothers and made their lives there.….and so, nu…. this is what’s
new … with Amy … in Israel! She wrote a book, Breathing Deep, which tells the story of
her journey from illness to wellness. It records her experiences and her family’s as they
come face-to-face with a terrifying reality, while having to deal with the practicalities of
day-to-day life. It started with a cough. That’s all. Nothing sinister. As a busy working
mother of three with a lot on her plate, Amy Eini wasn’t unduly concerned. But the cough
just wouldn’t quit and finally, Amy went to have it checked. She wasn’t expecting the
diagnosis she received. At 37, Amy had lymphoma, cancer of the lymphatic system. A
bulky tumor had almost completely taken over her left lung, with nodules in the right lung
and in the chest cavity. That diagnosis was to turn her life upside down. Up until that
moment, she’d been a non-drinking, non-smoking, otherwise perfectly healthy woman.
Overnight, she’d taken on another identity: that of cancer patient. Her normal routine as
manager of maintenance services for Kibbutz Dalia and mother of three had been
completely disrupted. The nagging cough had turned into a life-threatening bogeyman.


We share Amy’s ordeal from the point of view of all concerned…. her mother (“visiting”
from Montreal for months during Amy’s treatment), her sister, husband etc., etc. and
captures the reader with its candor and emotion. According to Amy, “This entire book was
written at my kitchen table, fighting for concentration between the blaring TV and
demanding children!” After several revisions (and crises along the way) Breathing Deep
was finally completed in March 2009.(B”H)Amy has now been in remission for four years.
She has been fundraising for the Hematology Department at Rambam ever since she
heard she was “clean.” Amy founded the Empathy Fund at Rambam in 2005. She runs
annual fundraising events to improve the quality of life of in-treatment cancer patients and
their families. The Empathy fund strives to offer essential support to patients and their
families by responding to their informational, emotional, and social needs. In addition to
the funds raised from special events, a percentage of sales from Amy’s book is also
donated to the Empathy Fund. The Empathy Fund has made a major difference in the
lives of people who spend so many hours waiting, wondering, and worrying. As Amy
recently wrote me, “I have just begun contacting cancer patients recommended for
participation by the Oncology and Hematology departments at Rambam Medical Center. It
is very gratifying to hear their pleasure in being given an opportunity to escape the daily
grind of coping with treatment, to be pampered mentally and physically.

24 Elul/Tishrei 5769
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