"Please pray for the Peace of Israel"  Psalm 122  [Chapter-11]

Israeli Doctors Treat Gaza Patients as War Rages

                   

“But I tell you, do not resist an evil person.  If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.”  (Matthew 5:39)

Despite the current war between the Gaza Strip and Israel, Israel is continuing to welcome sick Palestinians for treatment. Although Rambam Hospital treats hundreds of Palestinians year round, including as many as 650 children and teens, Yazid Falah, who serves as coordinator for the Palestinian patients, said that the fighting has caused some of the patients to “fear that they wouldn’t be well received.” “We calmed them down and explained to them that there was no danger for them to be at an Israeli hospital.  Here [at Rambam] we see humans; we don’t see sides.  At the end of the day, everyone is in the same boat,” said Falah.  (i24news) Rambam Hospital is situated in Haifa, a city that Hamas is targeting with long-range rockets.

Despite incessant missile fire from the Gaza Strip, Israel's Rambam
Hospital in Haifa continues to treat Palestinian patients.

Many of the 20 current Palestinian patients, including 8 children from Gaza, are being treated for diseases such as cancer and kidney ailments.  They are in Israel because they are not able to get adequate care where they live.  Some have been hospitalized for some time.  (JPost) Falah reports that some Palestinian patients are ashamed of what the terrorists have been doing and are even afraid to return to Gaza knowing that they can receive punishment for being treated at an Israeli hospital. Falah said the Palestinian patients face a real dilemma. “On the one hand, they find themselves in Israel and see the consequences of Hamas’ activities, and how people are being hurt on this side of the border as well.  On the other hand, their families are in Gaza, and they fear for the lives of their loved ones,” he said. He added that they prefer to stay in Israel and fear going back to Gaza where they may find their homes and cities in ruins. Tragically, while Israeli doctors are volunteering their time and talents to save the lives of Palestinian children, their leaders are deliberately putting them in harm's way.

The ReWalk robotic exoskeleton is giving mobility to men and women
paralyzed by lower limb disabilities.

ReWalk Takes Leap Forward with FDA Approval

"There he found a man named Aeneas, who was paralyzed and had been bedridden for eight years.  'Aeneas,' Peter said to him, 'Messiah Yeshua heals you.  Get up and roll up your mat.'  Immediately Aeneas got up."  (Acts 9:33–34)

Israel is continuing to fulfill God's prophetic promises that it would be a blessing to the world.  An Israeli marvel of technology and science is poised to change the lives of millions around the world who are confined to wheelchairs. While not a supernatural miracle of healing, the ReWalk Personal Exoskeleton System does feel like a miracle for the many men and women paralyzed with lower limb disabilities who can now stand up and walk because of it. The device was developed by Dr. Amit Goffer, an Israeli inventor who became quadriplegic after an ATV accident in 1997. ReWalk's 44-lb contraption includes a wrist-mounted controller; a backpack with computer and lithium batteries; a fitted metal brace to secure some of the upper body and the legs; and motors triggered by forward leaning that direct the hips, knees and ankles.  (Medical Device and Diagnostic Industry Online) The United States Food and Drug Administration approved the device for personal use on June 26, bringing this wearable, robotic exoskeleton to U.S. markets. "This revolutionary product will have an immediate, life-changing impact on individuals with spinal cord injuries," said Argo Medical Technologies CEO Larry Jasinski.  "This is truly the beginning of ‘ReWalking’ as a daily reality in the U.S."  (Tech Cocktail)

A paralyzed woman walks with the help of ReWalk.

ReWalk has already had an impact on U.S. military purple-heart recipients who returned home from war with heroic legacies—and the lifelong trial of lower-body paralysis.  They are not bound to a chair any longer. Retired U.S. Army Sergeant Theresa Hannigan claimed the first ReWalk used in the States beyond the confines of U.S. hospitals or clinics, with the Department of Veterans Affairs committing to cover the $69,500 cost of the device.  (Engadget) "There are so many things that I have missed by sitting in the wheelchair," said Hannigan, who was knocked off her feet by an autoimmune disease.  "The biggest thing ... would be giving me back my independence."  (CBS) Marine Corps Captain Derek Herrera, who was injured with a Taliban bullet two years ago in Afghanistan, will be among the first Americans to own a ReWalk. He said he saw in ReWalk "hope for the future." "Mentally and emotionally it's been inspiring and incredible," said Herrera who also has seen the financial support of the MARSOC Foundation, which specifically aids members of the Marine Corps Special Operations Command.  (Boston Globe)

“It will be incredible for me to regain independence, to use the system to walk and stand on my own,” he said. The benefits of the ReWalk device go beyond standing and walking.  It also helps patients in the fight against heart disease, diabetes, and obesity, which result from a sedentary lifestyle, and will help prevent ulcers that come with continual sitting in a wheelchair. "…strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.  'Make level paths for your feet,' so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed."  (Hebrews 12:12–13)