“I would like to tell people that they are in safe hands, that they have someone to turn to. The main thing is for them to know that they are not alone.”
Working with patients who are dealing with potentially terminal illnesses and are going through the toughest time of their lives is incredibly challenging. This career path may not be for everybody, but those who choose it deserve acknowledgment. One of those people is Milana, and today, we’d like to tell her story.
Milana is a medical coordinator at Sheba’s Global Patients Services, supporting international oncology and pediatric oncology patients since 2013. According to Milana: “Being able to help people, especially children and their families, is a great gift. When I come to work, I know it’s for something important. That is not something a lot of people can say.”
Working with international patients, Milana is very aware of the difficulties involved with seeking treatment abroad. “When international patients come here, they have great fear, apprehension and skepticism. Some of them have never been abroad before. We try to ease their fears as much as possible and make them understand that we are here to help them, to save them, so that they return home healthy. It is very difficult to trust strangers at first, but we help our patients feel safe and happy.”
While offering a unique opportunity to help others, the medical field is also very demanding, with many struggling to handle its emotional and physical toll. Milana tells us that several things give her strength: “What keeps me going is the families and children we were able to save. Many of them were told in their home countries that nothing could be done to help them. At Sheba, our doctors go to great lengths to help and often succeed. I am also very grateful for the help of my colleagues. We support each other in difficult times.”
Despite the difficulties, Milana finds that meeting and helping patients throughout the years has been an unforgettable experience, and their journeys to recovery never cease to inspire her.
“When a patient arrives in a wheelchair, or if a patient can’t talk, can’t eat by themselves, can’t stand – someone dealing with a very serious condition, and then they go through treatment, and suddenly they’re standing on their feet, talking, running, playing. It’s unforgettable. That’s what I come to work for.”
Thank you, Milana. You inspire us!
