The Sol Project and The Will To Live

Part 1 and 7 Cardiac Arrests Later

Sol’s wife Anat and I decided we should document this story because it is truly beyond, beyond belief. I assure you of this and I guarantee you that the Sol project and his will to live is like no other story you have heard. The reason being, Sol is remarkable! I will clarify for you why I make such a strong statement. As Sol continues to fight for his life, I plan to tell you the story inclusive of illness, after illness, and more profoundly about Sol’s courageous battle.

I have met my share of people as have all of you, but when it comes to Sol they really broke the mold.

The fact that Sol broke the mold made this situation that much more difficult, not just for us that love him, but for the doctors that are treating him. Sol has proven that he CANNOT be found in any medical book. He would prove them all wrong and baffled us all over and over again.

Even in Sol’s darkest moments he would put everyone in their place. He does not direct traffic in a negative way, but Sol is a physician, therefore he is a force to reckon with when it comes to medical advice. Everyone would just love him even more when he gave us and his doctors his instructions.

Now let me describe Sol so you can imagine and envision him. My husband has always called him the “Million Dollar Man. ” Now those 3 words speak volumes but let me tell you why he referred to him that way. When Sol would walk out of his house, he’s shining, always impeccable. His wife admitted to me that he took more time to get ready than she did. His vanity showed and that is just a part of being Sol. His hair, still dark at 60, never revealed gray, his face smooth from his clean shave, his jeans pressed with his shirt tucked in and a belt with the buckle large enough for visibility and he loves his cowboy boots. The real trademark of Sol is his generous application of his cologne and his huge smile. Sol, to quote his family, lights up the house with his smile as well as with his music. Another side to Sol is that he is a singer, who is known for his “Elvis Presley” tunes. And there you have the million dollar man.

Sol has his health issues and being a physician he supposedly was taking care of himself. He needed to take care of his heart condition, his diabetes, and most recently cancer. He overcame these destructive diseases until they caught up with him.

Before the first cardiac arrest approximately 4 months ago, Sol suddenly became unwell and would survive the arrest, but began his struggle to save his right leg from a nasty infection due to the complications of diabetes. Sol made up his mind that he would not allow the vascular surgeon to amputate his leg. The situation would spiral into a time that no one would foresee. And he would begin to endure the beginning of HELL while setting the example of THE WILL TO LIVE.

When a family member becomes ill and hospitalized the toll it takes on the family can be quite overwhelming. Sol has a very devoted family and many friends. His sister is one of the most devoted siblings you could ever know. She has made it her job to be with him during the day every day and even at other times, should need be. Needless to say she is a number one advocate and has full support from her lovely family at all times. His wife is of course so very devoted and with a very important job to report into daily, she arrives after work each night and on the weekend is glued to Sol’s room. She is holding herself up because she must, there is no other option; more incredible strength here. His mother can be found on the night shift every single night of the week and at eighty five years old stands strong to say the least. She can be found checking in on Sol at random times and calls the hospital every morning and every night when she returns home. She needs to know his exact status before she gets her night’s sleep if that is at all possible. Sol’s beautiful daughters and their husbands are devoted too. It is a difficult position for anyone’s child to be in and they are always around with their support. You can feel the abundance of LOVE around Sol at all times. Everyone is doing their best, but 4 months of being in the hospital, all of which has been a critical time has been a very very tough situation.

The family, almost as much as Sol, needs support from the outside to keep their spirits up, to lighten the load from the necessity to be present at all times in the hospital. Also what is crucial is their loved ones just need to be distracting them as the hours go into days and weeks and months of suffering. All these people can only attempt to accomplish this with other topics of conversation and life events other than what they are faced with; because as his wife has told me it is necessary to keep their sanity. Sol has many people that have stepped up to the plate; too many to count. You need to imagine that in better days when Sol went to the super market he often returned with five new friends. Therefore today they wait on line to visit Sol even in CCU and ICU, as the Sol project is impressive. By now the doctors and nurses know Sol’s large group of loved ones very well, and they have themselves told me that they never have witnessed such a support group for any patient like Sol has had all of these months. Everyone has become well known at this point and we all are learning a lot from this very brave, strong and courageous man.

We all continue on with our commitment to The Sol Project AND his Will To Live.