Dr. Amram (Ami) Cohen (z"l)

Dr. Amram (“Ami”) Cohen was a long-time supporter of baseball in Israel, as a Junior National Team and Ra’anana Cadet Team Coach, and member of the IAB Board of directors. 

 

Ami  was the driving spirit behind “Save A Child’s Heart,” which came into being in 1995 when an Ethiopian doctor referred to him by a mutual friend at the University of Massachusetts contacted him.  He asked for Ami’s help with two children in desperate need of heart surgery. From this beginning until his death in August 2001, he and his diligent and highly skilled staff of doctors, nurses and paramedics examined over 2,800 patients and treated 703 children, with an astounding success rate of 96%.  The program’s greatest achievement is that all the children, regardless of race, creed, color, sex, religion, or financial consideration are treated with finest medical care at the cutting edge of technology, provided by Save A Child's Heart in cooperation with the Wolfson Medical Center.

Ami's passing leaves a painful void and deep sense of loss in the hearts of all who knew and worked with him. His life's project, Save a Child's Heart, transcends national boundaries and political differences, building bridges of peace and understanding between Israel and the nations of the world. The goals that he lived for will be carried on by the organization he so successfully created. This is a most fitting memorial to his uniquely productive life.

His tragic, untimely death this past summer on the slopes of Mt. Kilamanjiro left a terrible void for all that knew him.  Our deepest sympathies go out to Debbie, Nadav and Tali, and the rest of his family.  The Hanukkah Cadet Tourney honors his memory.

In His Own Words…

" I am convinced that for the vast majority of people who chose cardiothoracic surgery as a profession, idealism was initially a strong factor. For those of you who are reading this and just starting out, hold fast to your 'day after-vision' because, if it fades, despite all the skills acquired, there will be something missing. For those who are searching, join us and together let us make the network to help children with heart disease globally big enough to be equal to the task. There is work for everybody. There are no dollars and cents in it, but it is worth a fortune." Amram Cohen

 

Reflections on Ami

 

Edie Weitzman – College Counselor at the American International School (AIS) in Israel

  

When AIS first learned of  Ami’s marvelous work to save children’s lives, we decided that this was a cause with which we wanted to get involved on several levels.  Our students began to perform community service at the Wolfson hospital by playing with the children and keeping them company both before and after the surgery…. 

 

Ami was an amazing role model for our students.  He was a dreamer, who had made his vision a reality.  His passion was contagious, he made us believe that we too could do the impossible.  Ami was constantly in motion, traveling to Africa to diagnose children, gaining the trust of their parents and their governments, arranging for their trips here, performing the surgery, returning to these countries for follow-up care, and organizing and  arranging for fundraising activities.  Every thing he did for Save A Child's Heart was done on a voluntary basis.  And yet he was never too busy to respond to our calls for assistance.  Each year, the Senior Project program asked him to be a helper to students who were involved in medical projects.  He always had time to come to the school, meet with the students, read their papers and give them feedback, invite them to come to the hospital to observe the surgery, and serve as a panelist.

 

During his graduation speech to the 1999 Senior Class,  he gave the seniors a plaque which read, " When children help children, the future is bright."  He told the seniors, "Very few things will parallel the tangible accomplishment of providing the gift of life to children who without you had no chance at all." He told us that adults tend to think that they temper the idealism and passion of youth with wisdom of experience.  However, he said that he and the doctors, upon performing their first surgery on a child in Ethiopia, realized that "the ideals and passions of our youth had not really been given to better understanding but had been rationalized underneath the surface with the pressures of life" and these doctors were able to reconnect with their earlier idealism and passions.

 

We have lost a very unique man who touched the lives of all who came into contact with him in a very profound way.  Perhaps most important, Ami helped us reconnect with our passions and idealism. His final words to the seniors at graduation: "I am here to challenge you to maintain your passion and idealism.  Do not allow the burdens and responsibilities of life to dull your passions and idealism.  In doing so, you'll find joy and fulfillment in life, and maybe, just maybe, the world will be a better place."

 

Ami helped make this world a better place.  Now, let's meet his challenge.