Michael Kaplan tells of a story that happened to two good friends of his. He starts of by introducing his good friend Banish that was about to undergo a grueling bone marrow transplant in Los Angeles. Whilst in recovery, two close friends came to visit him. Banish told them of a Yerushalmi man that did not speak English that was getting a bone marrow transplant as well, and they decided to visit him.
They wandered around, until they found the room. As they were about to walk in, the head of the nursing department stepped out and said that the man had just had the surgery, and he is not going to be up for visitors any time soon.
Disappointed the men turned to leave, and then the nurse noticing their Jewish clothing asked them if they spoke Hebrew. They said yes. The nurse began to explain how this man had a wife in the waiting room that didn’t speak English. He asked if they could explain to her what they tell every patient before the surgery that he won’t have the strength to move. He will be more tired than you ever were before, and it will take 24-48 hours before he will be able to sit up. We just don’t want the wife to panic when she sees him.
While the nurse was talking, something astonishing happened. While the nurse was talking, the three men saw the Yerushalmi man stirred. Noticing the men’s reaction the nurse turned as well. Thirty minutes after a bone marrow transplant, the patient who should have been completely incapacitated sat up, swung his legs over the bed and stood up. This all was done casually as if he hadn’t had the surgery at all. The man calmly walked across the room, opened the cabinet, put on his hat and with complete composure he washed netilat yadayim with the beracha. Just as calmly as he had risen, he went back into bed.
The room was frozen. After what seemed an eternity of silence the nurse found his voice. “It’s not possible! It’s not possible. Nobody moves after the surgery. Nobody!”
Banish turned to the nurse with an astounding insight. “Either we just witnessed a medical miracle, or maybe he moved because no one told him he couldn’t. Every patient is explained what to expect after the surgery, and they believe you because you are a nurse. They don’t get up because they don’t believe it’s possible. They don’t even try. But no one spoke Hebrew to explain to this man that he couldn’t get up. No one placed that limitation in his mind!”
