Reconnecting - Guest Post By Donna Lee

This morning we remembered my good friend's husband with a memorial brunch.  His good nature and smile is always in our memories. His 2 sons, Ben and Dor are the images of their dad. It was a pleasure to see the boys and their cousins, who grew up with and my youngest son, Dan. Barak, a cousin, 19 years of age, was present too and his beautiful smile filled the room with joy.

I met Barak when he was 6 months old (if my memory is correct).  He has cerebral palsy, which affected his vision as well.  He was one of our early intervention children at Beit Izzy Shapiro.  I cared for him on land but also had the privilege to teach him to swim, once the pool was built and I joined the hydrotherapy team (aquatherapy). Today he is a young man and has a very busy schedule. As well as attending school, he belongs to many clubs and activities, like extreme sports summer camp, and a teens group that have weekly meetings.

Barak has a new computer which assists him in communicating.  One of his compositions was posted in the newspaper (see photo). Each symbol represents a word, which is automatically printed under the picture. Barak describes his friends from school, tells about his new computer, teachers and the music he especially likes to listen to. 

I am looking forward to visiting him and conversing with him more, with use of his hi-tech computer.  As well as dancing with him and his friends at the beach party.

Shabbat Shalom,

donna lee