Hadassah Directory Funds Life-Saving Hadassah Medical Organization

Charlotte Jewish News December 2021

By Aileen Greenberg-Kriner

The back pain was so severe that Lilyah Altschul, 73, was almost paralyzed. The pain was constant and intolerable. No number of pills would help. Altschul had numerous health problems, and putting her under full anesthesia was extremely risky. Several Israeli hospitals refused to operate.

Senior spine surgeon Dr. Josh Schroeder and his colleagues at Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem had perfected a technique for operating while patients remain awake but are under local anesthesia and sedation. They performed a complicated surgery under only local anesthesia. Dr. Josh Schroeder and team restored her mobility in what the patient’s daughter described as “a miracle,” adding, “She’s smiling again after all that suffering.”

Like many other 21st-century mothers, Gaza resident Nourhan enjoyed recording her baby’s every move. While looking at photos on her cell phone, she noticed an unusual white stain in her daughter Mayar’s eye. After numerous visits to ophthalmologists,

the family received the horrifying news that Mayar had retinoblastoma, a rare eye cancer that primarily affects young children. Nourhan recalls every doctor coming up with the same answer: “There is nothing we can do. The cancer is aggressive, and Mayar can’t be helped. The solution is to remove the eye.” Mayar’s parents continued to search for a different answer and learned about the Hadassah Medical Organization.

Professor Shahar Frankel, one of Hadassah’s ophthalmologists, met Mayar when she was nine months old. “She couldn’t see out of her eye because the tumor was right at its center and occupied about half the eye’s volume,” says Professor Frankel. “Mayar required immediate treatment to save her eye.”

Within three days, Professor Jose Cohen, director of the Endovascular Neurosurgery and Stroke Unit, and his team performed a procedure to reach the tumor directly to focus the chemotherapy. Over many months, Professor Frankel and Professor Jacob Peer, head of Hadassah’s Onco-Ophthalmology Department, injected chemotherapy directly into Mayar’s eye.

Nine months later when Nourhan returned with Mayar for a checkup, Professor Frankel relates, “We were delighted to tell them that the treatment had been successful.” The tumor cells had died, and Mayar could see with that eye.

Both of these amazing patient outcomes resulted from of the expertise and compassion of professionals in the Hadassah Medical Organization (HMO) in Israel. HMO’s two Jerusalem hospitals, Ein Kerem and Mt. Scopus, are innovative, respected global leaders in medical care, treatment, and research serving more than a million men, women, and children each year regardless of religion, race, or nationality.

Hadassah Charlotte, along with Hadassah chapters around the world, provides major funding for the HMO. Our Charlotte chapter has committed to fund a state-of-the-art dermatology nurses’ station in the iconic round building at Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem in Jerusalem.

The 2022/6782 Charlotte Area Jewish Community Directory is our major fundraiser for the HMO so it can continue its important work. Our chapter has printed a directory since 1947!

The directory provides personal and business contact information and ads from companies and individuals who support the Charlotte metro Jewish community, from Huntersville and Lake Norman to Indian Land and Lancaster, South Carolina.

This year the directory will be more helpful than ever. In addition to providing your name, address, and phone number, you can add your email, a second address, and information for a second person in your household. You will be able to list your Jewels (children and grandchildren) for free this year and also purchase an Honor or Memorial for a loved one.

In addition to the printed directory, we are adding an online app, available by subscription. The online version will be in real time. You can update your own address, phone number, or any other information whenever it changes. New personal listings can be added throughout the year — perfect if you’ve just moved to the Charlotte area.

In the app, we make it easy to connect to the services you need. Business listings and advertisements are linked to the company’s website so you can shop and order online. Businesses are also listed by type as a reference for community members. Need a doctor, financial planner, real estate agent, or jeweler? Searching for a place to worship? Looking for a restaurant? Check the directory.

IMPORTANT: If you were in previous directories, you will NOT automatically be included in the 2022 Directory because of privacy laws. You MUST sign up again.

We invite you to advertise and be listed in the 2022/5782 Charlotte Area Jewish Community Directory, sponsored by Generations at Shalom Park.