Only one procedure can save this 12-year-old from dialysis

• Published date: 26 February 2023
• Publication title: Israel National News (Israel)

"You could write a book about her with hundreds of chapters filled with drama, suspense, hope, and tears." That's how the Menachem family describes the story of twelve-year-old Shanel, a bright and inquisitive child who's always been full of life. Very soon she'll be forced to start regular dialysis treatments due to the low functioning capacity of her kidneys: The left one is completely nonfunctional, and the right one functions at only 60% capacity

She was born with a double diaphragm, a birth defect which creates pressure on the kidneys. As a result, she suffers from recurrent kidney infections, each of which leads to a long and tortuous hospital stay.

The infections result from fluids rising from the stomach to the kidneys, that is to say, from food…and so Shanel Menachem decided to stop eating. She tries her hardest not to eat, from her visceral fear of the next hospitalization. That's how her severe eating disorder developed- on top of the kidney problem…

The eating disorder requires psychiatric treatments, and her health insurance covers it, but only 10 sessions. After that, treatment is no longer subsidized, and the family is required to pay 600 shekels per session, with a mandated two treatments a week. Facing a lack of funds, the family was forced to stop these vital treatments and ss a result, the disorder sharpened, with Shanel's medical situation deteriorating even further.

Please help her, Shanel wants to live>>>

In her middle school in Petach Tikvah named after Uri Orbach z"l, everyone knows Shanel as an optimistic, intelligent girl. "She's very perceptive and bright, with a lots of experience in life, unfortunately. More than many adults. This upcoming month she'll be celebrating her bat mitzvah, and she...