The Retina Specialist Who Couldn’t Believe What He Was Seeing

Dr. Sidney Schechet, a retina specialist from Baltimore’s Elman Retina Group, felt a deep sense of duty and compassion tugging at his heart since October 7th. Soroka Hospital in Beersheba is one of the main trauma centers for the soldiers injured from the war in Gaza, and their eye doctors were overwhelmed by so many soldiers coming in with severe eye trauma from the war. Furthermore, some of the eye and retina surgeons were called up to serve as well leaving the department short-handed.

Dr. Schechet decided to answer the call for help and offer his ocular trauma and retinal expertise. He and other American retina surgeons left their practices to volunteer for two weeks at Soroka hospital.

The morning he arrived, Dr. Schechet jumped in and got to work in the operating room. He worked day and night treating soldiers with severe eye injuries and also helping anxious civilians. He tried to use his surgical skills and confident medical knowledge to bring relief to both patients and staff alike. It didn’t hurt that his mother was Israeli, so he knew enough Hebrew to put people at ease.

In the midst of the chaos, Dr. Schechet found many moments of profound connection. He listened to the stories of the soldiers, shared in the relief of families whose loved ones were finally getting the care they needed, and felt the gratitude and immense bravery of a community under intense strain.

During his time at Soroka, Dr. Schechet encountered a condition he had treated many times before: Central Serous Retinopathy (CSR). This retinal disease causes vision to blur and become severely distorted. CSR is still quite mysterious, but is believed to have a correlation with serious stress. Dr. Schechet typically initially treats CSR patients by encouraging them to manage stress via yoga, deep breathing, exercise, meditation, etc.

Dr. Sidney Schechet

Since October 7^th, there were many cases of CSR, which came as no surprise to Dr. Schechet and the rest of the doctors. One day, Dr. Schechet saw an elderly patient come in with a forlorn look. He reported having impaired vision for the past several months. He had severe CSR and fluid in his eye which was distorting his vision. He was a Holocaust survivor who had family members murdered and taken hostage by Hamas on October 7th.

With these unimaginable tragedies, Dr. Schechet found himself at a loss for words. He thought, How on earth can I tell these people to reduce the stress in their lives?

So, Dr. Schechet decided to skip his usual stress reduction lecture, but he owed it to him to explain the cause of his vision issue and the long road ahead to find a resolution.

After explaining that the condition in this case was triggered by the immense stress he had undergone, the patient teared up and quietly stared into space deep in thought before responding to Dr. Schechet. "You mean I am going blind as a direct result of the loss of my loved ones?"

Dr. Schechet nodded while placing a hand on the patient’s shoulder. Suddenly the patient looked up at him with a bright smile. Startled, Dr. Schechet asked why he was smiling, considering his vision was severely and possibly permanently affected, and that it could take months or even years to heal.

The patient responded, "I actually feel a sense of relief now knowing that I am physically sharing in the pain and suffering of my loved ones. I’ve felt profound guilt at being spared, but this eye problem shows me that I’m still connected with the ones who are in heaven and the ones in Gaza who will return. And I’m smiling because I have that opportunity to share in their pain."

Dr. Schechet was profoundly moved by this unexpected reaction and sentiment. It demonstrated the Jewish trait of “nosei ol im chavero” – sharing someone's burden and loss. He bade the patient farewell and scheduled a follow-up ten days later. When the man came back, Dr. Schechet was stunned to find out that the problematic fluid had nearly gone away completely, something unheard of in the treatment of CSR. They knew that this was a true testament of the strength and constant source of light found within a Jew’s soul.

Dr. Sid Schechet, on the right, in Israel

The time Dr. Schechet spent at Soroka Hospital was intense but deeply fulfilling. Back in the US, he shared this medical miracle with distinguished ophthalmologists. He was routinely met with skepticism. But he had seen it, with his own eyes.