I caught coronavirus in the US. There, of all places. Far from Israel and my family. A few days after Purim I was feeling unwell. My temperature rose, so I entered self-quarantine. Two days later, I was hospitalized at University of Miami Hospital with a serious case of pneumonia, barely able to breathe.
The concern that I had corona came true when the test results arrived. A few days later, my doctors told me they would need to induce a coma and put me on a ventilator. For 30 years, I've been working in emergency medicine as a paramedic.
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I founded United Hatzalah, whose volunteers have saved many lives. The terms "in a coma and on a ventilator" are familiar to me and I was very scared. After a month of unconsciousness, with machines breathing for me, I woke up. At first, I didn't know where I was. The doctors explained my situation and what had happened. They said I was at the start of a long road to recovery. I was sad to find that I'd missed Passover, my favorite holiday. But I was very happy to talk to my family, my wife and children.
"Dad, what did you dream about while you were asleep?" my youngest daughter asked me in our first conversation.
"I think I dreamed about angels," I answered. But I didn't dream. There were angels. Angels from all over the world who took care of me. I discovered that when I was told what had been happening around me all that time.
They told me about Yosef Chaim Kadosh, who celebrated his bar mitzvah last week. He is a cancer patients who is fighting for his life. But twice a day, he read Psalms for my recovery. They told me how 6,000 Hatzalah volunteers -- Jews, Muslims, Christians, and Druze, each in their own way -- had prayed for my wellbeing. I heard about the prayers by members of the Jewish community in Miami and across the US, by a group of American Christians I'd spoken to, by an Indian group, and many others.
There were also angels close around me. Dr. Joel Sandberg and his wife, Adele, who made sure I was getting the best treatment and kept my family updated. Dr. Miriam Adelson, whom I know personally, a doctor who saved many people over the course of her life and the publisher of Israel Hayom, extended her kindness to me, prayed for me, and ensured that I got the treatment and medicine that quite simply saved my life.
Last week, when I recovered and able to fly, she brought me back to Israel on a private plane belonging to her and her husband, Sheldon. When I got off the plane, I met my wife and children with great excitement. The first step was hard. I realized it was the first step of my long road to independence.
This year, the word "independence" has a broader meaning. Aside from autonomy, it embodies the importance of the ability not to need others. So I wish that the state of Israel and all its citizens can continue standing on our own, both as individuals and as a nation. That we continue to join ranks, take it upon ourselves to help each other, and worry about people other than ourselves. That is how we will grow stronger, and that's how we'll beat coronavirus. I thank God for healing me, the doctors who treated me, and my angels, who enveloped me in prayers, love, and mercy, up close and from afar.
Dr. Miriam Adelson is the publisher of Israel Hayom. The Adelson family owns the company that is the primary shareholder in Israel Hayom.
