Olga

I came to Israel with my husband and three children. I have a Ph.D. in engineering, so my husband and I were thankful to be able to find work in construction engineering, our field of expertise, soon after moving to Israel. In our local congregation we help with technical things such as the sound system and I serve in the women’s ministry.

About a year and a half ago I was waiting at a bus stop when I was hit from behind by a guy riding an electric bike. At first, I was thankful I had not broken anything and I thought I had gotten off easy. But I had been struck in the head and back, so the pain took a few days to start, and it affected me more and more as each day passed. Within a week or two I wasn’t sleeping at all from the pain. Standing would hurt and sitting too long would make me dizzy. Taking sleeping medication helped with the night but affected my days negatively. The experts involved with my physical therapy were wrestling over whether I would require neck, head and lower back surgery—or whether they would be able to help me recover with years of therapy—but without the risky surgery.

The whole process has taken time and I am still in treatment with the possibility of surgery in the future. However, I am well enough now that I can work part-time and stabilize our family income. The issue we faced as a family was the one-year gap when only my husband could work and I had extra medical expenses. I am so thankful to ISWI for helping us cover this financial gap so we can move forward on our own two feet.