34 | DECEMBER 28 • 2023 
J
N

L

ife was hard enough for 
Nirit Maizels, 43, of Ramat 
Hasharon outside of Tel 
Aviv before the rockets started 
flying. The wife and mother of 
three children, a 14-year-old 
daughter and two boys, ages 11 
and 7, lives with cystic fibrosis 
(CF). The genetic disorder 
causes chronic and fatal lung 
infections and affects the body’s 
cells, tissues and glands that 
make mucus and sweat. There 
is currently no cure for CF, but 
treatment can ease symptoms, 
reduce complications and 

improve quality of life.

“I am very worried about my 
medication. The supply chains 
are damaged. It’s just a very 
chaotic situation,
” Maizels says. 
“Even to take care of myself 
these days, I have to say I haven’t 
been eating. It’s hard to do 
everything you need to do — 
keep your children calm and safe 
— to just try to live a normal 
life and not to deteriorate my 
health.
”

Maizels, a granddaughter 
of Holocaust survivors, joined 
journalist Laura Bonnell via 

Zoom for a recent recording of 
her “Living with Cystic Fibrosis” 
podcast to talk about life with 
CF amid the war. Bonnell, who 
is Jewish, has two daughters 
Molly, 28, and Emily, 26, living 
with CF. She founded The 
Bonnell Foundation to advocate, 
raise awareness and provide 
emotional and financial support 
to CF families, which includes 
financial assistance, education 
scholarships and lung transplant 
grants.
“It’s horrific to be targeted 
simply because you’re Jewish; 

but on top of that, you have 
a chronic illness and need to 
continue treatments,
” Bonnell 
says. “I just cannot believe how 
much this mother has to deal 
with. As Americans, we have no 
idea about the stress of war on 
yourself and on families.
”
Maizels was first diagnosed 
with CF when she was just 3 
months old. She says about 650 
Israelis like her are currently 
living with cystic fibrosis. Before 
the war, a physiotherapist 
would come to her house and 
provide regular treatments to 
help ease her breathing. That 
therapy stopped suddenly Oct. 
7 after Hamas militants staged 
a murderous terror attack, 
killing and injuring thousands 
of innocent civilians and taking 
hundreds of hostages, many of 
whom have been killed or are 
still being held in Gaza. 
“I think that every single 
innocent person’s life lost is 
horrible,
” she says. “I think that 
people need to understand that 
Hamas is not the Palestinians. 
That’s not the same. Hamas is 
terrorists. What they’re doing to 
the Palestinians is horrible.
”

SUPPORT FOR CF PATIENTS
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation 
of Israel is doing what it can 
to help CF patients during this 
uncertain time. Founded in 
1967, the organization works 
to increase awareness, diagnose 
babies as early as possible, 
improve genetic screening, and 
assist families with medications, 
daily treatments and more.
Maizels says due to air quality 
and safety concerns, she and 
others are not able to take walks, 
get exercise and do other things 
essential for fighting the disease. 
Inflatable vests can provide 
what’s known as high-frequency 
chest wall oscillation, a type of 
therapy to loosen mucus in the 
chest, but Maizels says the vests 
are not available in Israel. As 

HEALTH

An Israeli mother of three shares how she’s coping 
with cystic fibrosis amid the war.

 Chronically Ill 
 in a War Zone

ROBIN SCHWARTZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Laura Bonnell at the 
podium speaks about 
living with CF.

