I would like to refer these words to my mother, Leni Zilber, who passed on February 27th of 2021.
My mother’s dream of becoming a doctor appeared right after her birth.
When Lena, at the age of 3, cut the dolls and was looking for a heart, a liver, the doctor who lived next door, told Lena's mother (my grandmother): “Your daughter will be a doctor”.
During the war, living in Tashkent with her mother and younger brother, while attending school, Lena worked as a nurse assistant in a hospital.
After graduating from the high school, Lena entered the Tashkent Medical School. However, it was not possible to study there, the family returned after the war to Odessa where Lena's father returned from the war.
Lena did not give up her dream about Medicine, and the next year she again successfully passed the exams and was enrolled in the Odessa Medical School.
The graduation from the Medical School coincided with the period of the notorious "Doctors' Cause" in 1952.
My mother also had to experience the injustice of this anti-Semitic campaign.
But this did not break the young specialist. Diligence and dedication prevailed.
Thus began the work of a general physician - the fight against human diseases, the fight for people's lives.
Mom treated her medical work with great responsibility. Patients appreciated her kindness, attentiveness, and willingness to help. There was always a line to her office.
Fate brought my mother together with my dad, a disabled war veteran. My parents carried love and devotion to each other throughout their lives. When my dad fell seriously ill (the result of a severe war injury), my mother, overcoming herself, did everything to make my father return to normal life.
Mother has worked with great dedication for many years, gaining recognition and respect from patients and colleagues. Her work was interrupted by moving to the United States in 1991. But even in the new place, my mother helped many people with advice for a long time.
After my dad died in 2015, my mom's health deteriorated and she moved to live in nursing home.
As a daughter, it is difficult for me to express my feelings and experiences in words. Everyone knows that mom cannot be replaced by anyone. My mother devoted her life not only to her family, but also to many, many people. May the earth rest in peace for this. Amen.
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