Melabev

In 2013 Sid and I decided to see what it would be like to spend a few months in Israel. We selected the months of November, December and January. We got to experience Thanksgivukkah, the very first time Thanksgiving and Hanukkah coincided (an event that won't be repeated for another 10,000 years), in a place that would give the event special meaning. It was the year of the toaster oven turkey, the postage stamp size apartment, and the meter and a half snowstorm that paralyzed Jerusalem for 5 days. Our granddaughter Dori had made aliya and was getting ready to enlist in the IDF, our granddaughter Meital spent a semester at Muss high school in Beer Sheva, and we celebrated our grandson Nir's bar mitzvah. 

It was also the 10th Melabev Hike for Alzheimer's.

One day I was reading the Jerusalem Post and saw an ad for a hike being sponsored by an organization I had never heard of, in memory of someone Sid knew who had early onset Alzheimer's. I said we have to get involved with this. A couple of phone calls later we were signed up for a hike in the Judean Desert, along with about 50 other people. We have supported Melabev ever since.

Melabev was founded in 1981 for the comprehensive care of dementia patients. Services include day care centers, support groups for family members and caregivers, wellness calls, placing qualified home care workers, at-home therapeutic activities, a memory clinic, a proprietary software program of mind-stimulating exercises, a Neuronix Clinic and ground-breaking research unit.

I have toured their facility in Jerusalem and spoken with many on the professional staff. Everything about this organization impresses me, but some things stand out. They have a unit, composed strictly of volunteers, who make daily wellness calls to older adults living alone. In addition to saying hello, they provide practical help such as errands and home repair services, and referrals to other non-profits who provide medical equipment and meals. The at-home services include therapeutic activities such as art, gardening, fitness and cognitive stimulation for home-bound patients as well as in nursing homes. Support groups not only support families and caregivers, but also serve as networking centers for people who have to navigate the maze of bureaucracy in order to receive the benefits and services they are entitled to.

Melabev also has a research unit which developed Savion, a computer program designed to maintain and improve memory. The most exciting and optimistic breakthrough is Neuronix, which combines cognitive training and electromagnetic brain stimulation. The system has been proven to work in studies at Harvard and the treatment has been approved by the Israeli Ministry of Health as well as European Commission. Knowing how Europe feels about anything coming out of Israel, their approval really means something.

So yes, this episode is a request for funds.

Sid and I just completed a two-day hike in the Galilee for the 2017 Hike for Alzheimer's. We selected the "moderate" route; from time to time it was moderate, but at other times it was very challenging. When you do something like this there is a big sense of accomplishment, but in the end it's really all about raising funds for this remarkable organization. We urge you to donate in support:

http://hike4alz.melabev.org/hikers/

Just click on one of our names (or both if you insist) and sponsor us in any amount. Feel free to tell your friends. You will be doing a huge mitzvah and contributing to the quality of life for alzheimer's patients and their families. And maybe one day coming up with a treatment for this heart breaking disease. You will have our eternal gratitude.

Shabbat shalom from Jerusalem,

Peggy and Sid

The "moderate route" group. We started at Rosh Hanikra.

These nasty bushes were the challenge.
Thorns and thistles, and they hurt when you got stuck.

This is what serves as a trail marker in Israel.

Uh-oh. Are we lost?

This is Chen. At 4'10", she was the security guard and paramedic.
She was a paramedic in the Border Patrol.

We made it to the end!

Our post-hike stop was the Bahai Gardens in Akko.