Eight years ago, my pregnancy became high-risk and I was hospitalized for two months. Unfortunately, one of those months was Tishrei, which meant a number of lonely Yamim Tovim in the hospital.
On the first day of Succos, my friend Karen suddenly appeared in my room. One of her children had had a medical emergency, and they’d rushed to the hospital. Her child had stabilized, and now with her child sleeping, she’d slipped away to visit me.
While I felt terrible she’d had to leave her family on Yom Tov, I was gratified to have company. We schmoozed for a little while, I gave her some cake a friend had sent, and then she had to get back to her daughter. I told her I’d pop in later.
That afternoon, I slowly made my way to the children’s ward. Karen and I were enjoying each other’s company when an orderly brought the supper tray. Karen looked it over — the lukewarm soup, the stale bread, a yogurt, a scoop of tuna, and a cucumber.
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