A Survivor’s Remarkable Story of Courage

December 23rd, 2024 |HaTikva Dental

Lida, 83, came to Israel from Vinnitsa, Ukraine, and visited HaTikva Dental several years ago. She appreciates the support and care she received there. Dr. Maher did everything possible to help, and while she knows that, at her age, dental prosthetics may not relieve all her discomfort, she is grateful for his efforts.

Lida, shared part of her life story with us. Born on June 15th, just two weeks before war reached her city, her mother often retold the story of that harrowing time. Her father died shortly after going to war, and Lida’s mother, carrying her newborn, fled the city under bombings. In the chaos, Lida slipped from her mother’s arms onto the grass. Her mother, realizing the baby was gone, turned back through the bombing to find her. There, in the grass, tiny Lida lay quietly, waiting to be found. Seizing her daughter, her mother ran to board a departing train to the Caucasus.

Their journey was full of danger. When bombings neared, the train would stop, and people would scramble off, falling into craters or pits. Mothers would wash their babies’ clothes by the river during stops, often needing to chase the train when it departed unexpectedly.

Lida never thought she would live to see 50, yet here she is at 83, still recovering emotionally from those early years. Sometimes, the pain and tears resurface, as if the war is still present. But she is grateful to have survived.