Malki, who felt a calling to volunteer, described a patient who for two weeks did little else but stare at the walls. “Sensing his despair and hopelessness I arranged a Zoom call between him and his grandson. The patient, so overwhelmed, couldn’t get a word out, so he started dancing. I realized then the importance of what I’m doing.”
Despite jobs and families of their own, our ‘Corona Angels’ happily sacrifice their own time to bring some lightness into a dire situation. Chaim and Yedidya, who decided to volunteer together, explain the emotional rollercoaster involved. “We feel like we’re part of a large family here. We’re so happy for every patient who leaves here, but it’s really tough to watch those whose condition deteriorates. It breaks your heart.”
The volunteers’ willingness to be there for these otherwise isolated patients—whether to make small-talk, help a man put on his tefillin, video call an elderly woman’s son, even play a little guitar—may seem like just small measures of comfort. But in the bleak reality of the corona ward, it’s everything.
