One Wednesday evening, the parents of Y., a young cancer patient, were at their wits' end. Their daughter was crying bitterly and there was nothing they could do for her. The doctors told them to wait until morning, when they would able to perform a C.T. scan. In their helpless misery, the parents appealed to Zichron Menachem, the organization which was supplying them with an experimental drug claimed to save lives, begging them to have it shipped urgently from the U.S.
The Zichron Menachem staff has been accompanying and closely supporting this sick girl and her family all along. The head of the organization, Rabbi Chaim Erenthal, suggested a solution anchored in the story in Maseches Taanis telling of Abba Chilkiya and his wife who went up to their attic, each in their own corner, to pray for rain, even before they were asked to do so by the Sages.
"Find yourself a quiet corner," he advised them, "and do this very thing yourselves. Pray fervently, with all your heart, even before the hospital is able to perform the C.T."
The father went off to the Kosel and found himself a secluded corner where he wept profusely and prayed intensely throughout the whole night.
Morning arrived and the time came to take the child to the hospital for the test. To everyone's amazement - the test was negative. The child was well. There was no need for further concern for the meanwhile.
The happily overwhelmed parents quickly contacted the head of Zichron Menachem, Rabbi Chaim Erenthal, to report the miracle. He said, "In all the twenty-three years of my work with families of cancer-stricken children, we have constantly seen the importance of never abandoning hope but drawing strength from Hashem. There were many times where the situation seemed foregone and totally hopeless but was totally reversed for the good, so long as there is hope and emunah beating in the hearts of the parents. Before the medical diagnosis, one does not need an open miracle; on the contrary, this is the very time when one must pray, and hope and trust that one will be answered, with the help of Hashem."
