{"id":63601,"date":"2023-03-22T14:21:39","date_gmt":"2023-03-22T19:21:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?p=63601"},"modified":"2023-03-22T14:21:39","modified_gmt":"2023-03-22T19:21:39","slug":"i-have-no-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/i-have-no-words\/","title":{"rendered":"I Have No Words\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"You’ve said it.\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I’ve said it.\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We’re overwhelmed and we encounter something so bizarre or so magnificent that the words don’t come.\u00a0So, we say, “I have no words.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, if you have pontocerebellar hypoplasia, a rare neurological disease, you never have words.\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ever. You can’t talk.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But you can still light up a room.\u00a0 And yesterday, Chayah Rivkah lit up the room and my day.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Chaya Rivkah Blank is 8 years old.\u00a0 She’s restricted to a\u00a0bed or a wheelchair.\u00a0 I met Chaya and her mom, Tzivia, at Children’s Specialized\u00a0Hospital, where Chaya’s been for 4 \u00bd months.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Blanks are from Boro Park, a long way from the hospital.\u00a0 Tzivia spends as much time with Chaya during the week as possible, while still looking after her other three\u00a0children and supportive husband, Aryeh, at night.\u00a0 It’s not easy.\u00a0 Leaving Chaya at the end of the day is hard.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At the beginning of their stay, knowing OU-JLIC had a presence in nearby Rutgers University, Tzivia reached out for help.\u00a0 Could anyone volunteer to visit Chaya in the late afternoons?\u00a0 Could anyone keep this beautiful young lady, who silently sits with a smile, company?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Meet Ahuvah Strauss, a Rutgers student and active member of OU-JLIC.\u00a0 Under the guidance of OU-JLIC Director Rabbi Avi Schwartz, Ahuvah dove in.\u00a0 Hard.<\/span> \"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Ahuvah created a WhatsApp group of OU-JLIC students to sign up for visitation shifts.\u00a0 In fact, many students not only visited Chaya, but stayed the night.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u00a0asked Ahuvah, \u201cWhat did you do all night?\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“I read to Chayah.\u00a0 I sang to her.\u00a0 I hummed. She loves songs.\u00a0 My visit often ended with my saying \u2018Modeh Ani\u2019 to Chayah while she smiled.”<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0The Blanks hope that Chaya will be released\u00a0by Pesach.\u00a0 However, one can never be sure as the home setup necessary to support Chaya is complex.\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Volunteers to visit in the evenings (6-9PM) are still needed. Visits can be coordinated by calling Tzviva Blank at\u00a0(718) 744-7127.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ahuvah and Chaya, two young women intricately connected without ever a normative conversation.\u00a0 One hums a tune, and the other beams a smile.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This is OU-JLIC at its best. I have no words.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You’ve said it.\u00a0 \u00a0 I’ve said it.\u00a0 \u00a0 We’re overwhelmed and we encounter something so bizarre or so magnificent that the words don’t come.\u00a0So, we say, “I have no words.\u201d\u00a0 However, if you have pontocerebellar hypoplasia, a rare neurological disease, you never have words.\u00a0 \u00a0 Ever. You can’t talk.\u00a0 But you can still light up<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133769,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-63601","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-inspiration"],"yoast_head":"\nI Have No Words\u00a0 - OU Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/i-have-no-words\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"I Have No Words\u00a0 - OU Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"You’ve said it.\u00a0 \u00a0 I’ve said it.\u00a0 \u00a0 We’re overwhelmed and we encounter something so bizarre or so magnificent that the words don’t come.\u00a0So, we say, “I have no words.\u201d\u00a0 However, if you have pontocerebellar hypoplasia, a rare neurological disease, you never have words.\u00a0 \u00a0 Ever. 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