According to the organization StandWithUs, 35 percent of all doctors in Israel are from the Arab sector.I have had five operations in Tel Hashomer hospital over a period of 10 years. I almost feel like a member.Arab doctors have treated me with utmost care. I want to draw attention to this because of the "hate mail" on Facebook towards the Arab population. Many of these doctors live in the West Bank and despite their hardships still manage to give humane attention to their patients. We should not judge people collectively.
I had an Arab woman anesthetist who was very kind and gentle in her search for my veins, something I'm very fearful of prior to an operation. Telling me not to worry, she would find them with the help of a special magnifying glass. The Russian nurse Takinke told me she would be "my personal nurse" during the operation. Those words were very calming and subdued my fear about the operation.
The day I left Tel Hashomer, I was given one hour's notice from Beit BaLev, a rehabilitation home in Raanana, to be ready for the ambulance that was collecting me. I got into a flap. You'd have thought I was going searching for my diamonds. Ruti, a nurse from Brazil, on witnessing my outburst brought me a glass of water and holding my arm took me for a walk down the passage, reassuring me all the time the positive aspects of leaving the hospital.
Having no time to say goodbye to the staff, to my physiotherapist, and to my surgeon, Dr Gideon Burstein, was one of my dilemmas. Then the head nurse, an Indian lady, came to reassure me and attended to me with me the utmost kindness despite herself being under pressure to have my discharge papers ready.
The ambulance driver arrived to collect me exactly on time. The Arab doctor who was on duty wouldn't allow me to leave until he'd taken my blood pressure and he told the ambulance driver to wait. The doctor arrived with the blood pressure machine, on wheels, and took my blood pressure which had jumped sky high from stress, and he made me rest for a while before releasing me from the hospital. The ride took about 45 minutes. On arrival at Beit BaLev, my son received a call from the same Arab doctor who'd taken my blood pressure to find out how his mother was.
All these different nationalities working together hand-in-hand with love, devotion and humanity with Israeli doctors and nurses showed me the humane side for peace.
It is possible!
Thank you Tel Hashomer.
Fonda Dubb
Eilat