My Hadassah

The hallways of Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem tell the ongoing history of the City of Jerusalem and thousands of personal stories too. My story begins in those hallowed hallways of Hadassah and continues as I make my way to my shifts as a nurse in the maternity unit.

So many special moments of my life occurred in these hallways. My mother, a Hadassah midwife, carried me through these same hallways at my birth. I completed my National Service at Hadassah and graduated from Hadassah’s Henrietta Szold School of Nursing. Oh and then there’s the three years of cancer treatments and rehabilitation! All those moments happened in Hadassah’s hallways. For good and for less good.

On one sunny morning of July 2015, another incredible moment joined the list. When I was diagnosed with cancer five years ago, I was optimistic that I would recover. I dreamt, prayed, and hoped for the best outcome possible. But, in my wildest dreams, I could not picture the moment that I would step back into my nurse’s uniform and walk those hallways of Hadassah as a member of staff as before. During all those years of visiting Hadassah on the receiving end, as a patient, I could not picture myself being lucky enough to go back to treat those in need. It seemed it was “Mission Impossible.”

But on that lovely summer morning of July 2015, it proved not so impossible after all!

In the same Hadassah where I was born thirty 30 years ago, where my life was saved twice during the years I underwent treatments, in those same exact halls, I was taking my first steps as a proud returning member of the Hadassah staff.

One chapter of my life was closing and an exciting new one was beginning. We don’t know what the future holds for us. Hey, we don’t even know what will happen to us in the next 24 hours. But I do hope and pray to the Almighty that the energy I felt that miraculous morning of July 2015 in the hallways of Hadassah will be something I will never forget for the rest of my life.

So this is me, Libbie Goldstein Stern: 33 years of age, married to an Englishman, and the mother of two princesses; a nurse, a life coach, and a person who is truly thankful to Hadassah and the one above for my recovery as a cancer patient.

I hope you will join me for my future Blogs, where I will share with you some of the inside stories of the hallways of my Hadassah.—Nurse Libbie

Read other blog posts from Nurse Libbie

Jun 2017

Nurse Libbie’s Blog, Chapter 4

Babies are a sign of life. New life and new beginnings. That is one of the reasons why I love my job so much on the maternity and newborn ward. Each and every day I spend on the ward I get that...
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May 2017

Nurse Libbie’s Blog, Chapter 3B

Kinneret Weismark was born with a big bang! Her mother, Ilana Weismark, suffered an amniotic fluid embolism -- a rare (1 in 30,000 deliveries), life-threatening emergency that can occur during labor.
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Mar 2017

Nurse Libbie’s Blog, Chapter Three

Every morning when I awake, I put my two feet on the ground and gratefully thank the almighty for returning my soul to me. This is the start for each and every day.
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Jan 2017

Nurse Libbie’s Blog, Chapter Two

It is said that a single photo can tell a story better than a thousand words. In our day and age each smart phone contains millions of photos and often people have innumerable words to add to them....
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