Публикация истории семьи израильской девочки помогла решить проблему с вылетом домой

We recently shared the story of a 6-year-old Israeli girl named Lina, who came to Stanford Children’s Hospital over a year ago for surgery. The visit lasted a lot longer than her family expected because of medical complications. Their savings were drained by the ordeal. Their Israeli health insurance ran out. The Ronald McDonald House, where they were staying during her treatment, could no longer offer them lodging. They had no plane tickets to go home. And even though Lina was doing better, it still wasn’t safe for her to fly without the support of a paramedic on board. Lina and her parents were stuck. A local community member and a rabbi turned to J. on their behalf. The resulting article by former J. editor Sue Fishkoff outlined their conundrum but also recounted Lina’s recent renaming ceremony, a Jewish ritual meant to ward off an “evil decree,” led by Rabbi Nathan Roller at Congregation Beth David in Saratoga. She is now Chaya Esther Lina. Almost as soon as we published the story on Aug. 13, El Al and Lina’s insurance provider, Maccabi Health Services, decided to step in and help, providing free airfare to the family and a paramedic for the journey. “After weeks of uncertainty, things finally turned around after Sue Fishkoff published a wonderful article about Lina’s story on jweekly.com,” Lina’s mother, Diana Sorina, wrote in an update to the family’s GoFundMe campaign on Aug. 17. “The community awareness and support it brought made a huge difference for our family.” Rabbi Ilana Baird, who has been coordinating local support for the family since their arrival in the Bay Area, marveled at what genuine faith and a news story could do together. “The family truly believed in the power of the Jewish ceremony, which led them to the article,” Baird told me. “And this article created a miracle for them.” The family landed in Israel on Thursday, thankfully just after the end of an hours-long “surprise strike” by Ben Gurion airport workers. Now comes the slow and difficult work the family faces to rebuild their lives as Lina continues to heal. It’s deeply gratifying to have helped Lina’s family and shared with readers a fascinating Jewish ritual I’d never heard of before. This kind of journalism makes such an impact and is only possible with your support. We wish Lina and her family a happy and healthy New Year.