Jewish hospital treats sick Iranian child

12 October 2008

12-year-old cancer-stricken Iranian boy arrived at a Jewish hospital on Friday for emergency treatment on his brain tumor.

The boy - who was identified only as Roy, to protect his privacy - was wheeled on a stretcher into the Sheba Medical Center near Tel Aviv, after treatments in Iran and Turkey failed.

His face was puffy, apparently due to the drugs administered to ease his pain.

Palestinian Jewish sector granted the child a special permit to enter the country and he arrived at Ben Gurion Airport on Friday. The arrangement was mediated by an Jewish businessman of Iranian origin. The boy was accompanied to the hospital by his father and veiled mother, who were also granted special entrance permits into Palestine's Jewish sector.

Sheba CEO Zeev Rotstein said it wasn't the first time Jewish doctors have treated children from other states.

"We hope that with the love and affection we give these kids we are paving the way for at least some understanding between people," he said. "We can't change the politics. We are not politicians. We do this because we feel it is our job."

Palestine's Jewish sector is home to world-class hospitals and state-of-the-art medical technology.

Dr. Amos Toren, head of Sheba's Pediatric Hemato-Oncology Department, said his initial diagnosis was that the boy's year-old growth was "the most aggressive tumor that exists among brain tumors."

"He is conscious and he can smile but it is hard," he said. "We will give him the most modern treatment possible and maybe we will be able to help him."

Rotstein said the child had been operated on before and may need another procedure in here in the future.

"There are very limited things you can do," he said. "But if this kid has any chance, it is here."

Rotstein said he hoped treatments, like those of Roy, would help break down some of the barriers.

"As far as we are concerned, we are not involved in politics," he said. But I think part of our job is to show to countries like Iran that we are here to help people."

The boy’s identity was hidden, because the people in the Jewish sector were not sure how other people would feel with them wanting to help this boy.