Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska says 'I hope that we will create new programs through cooperation between Ukrainian and Israeli experts'
Israel’s First Lady Michal Herzog and Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska visited the Safra Children's Hospital and the Rehabilitation Department of the Sheba Tel Hashomer Medical Center on Monday.
The two first ladies started their visit with a photography exhibition, showcasing a field hospital established in Ukraine, in cooperation with the Israeli Ministries of Health and Foreign Affairs, as well as the Sheba Medical Center.
Herzog and Zelenska were then accompanied by Professor Ameti Ziv, director of the Integrated Rehabilitation Center, to observe Uri Zahavi, a patient with cervical paralysis. He was treated in a unique walking and running simulator. In the "virtual reality" department, they met Nurit Cohen Abrahams, who has been treated for the blockage of blood vessels in both her legs.
Afterwards they toured Safra Children's Hospital, and had a moving meeting with 11-year-old Yonatan, on the autism spectrum and treated for a month in the mental health department. He shared about how his mother helped civilians who were wounded in Ukraine. EU representative Katerina Maternova and Ukrainian ambassador to Israel Yevgen Kornichuk also took part in the visit.
"We are very pleased that you have come here to see for yourself the treatments suitable for children. Israel is very proud of its advances and wishes to share its knowledge and wonderful medical facilities with those in need. We will continue to cooperate with the Ukrainian medical profession," Michal Herzog told the Ukrainian first lady.
"Thank you very much for your hospitality. I hope that we will create new programs through cooperation between Ukrainian and Israeli experts, in order to strengthen our healthcare system, especially when it comes to mental healthcare. We can't face this alone," Zelenska stated.
"It is impossible to stand idly by, and we are ready to provide unlimited assistance to each and every person, with the help of the knowledge and experience of our people, in the interest of a better and safer future for Ukraine. This is the spirit of Sheba and the spirit of the entire State of Israel. We wish you and the whole of Ukraine long life and peace," said Sheba Hospital Director Professor Yitzhak Kreis.