As we mark one year since the pandemic changed our lives, we asked you to introduce us to your COVID heroes

When the first lockdown started a few days after Purim, my children’s schools closed. Then I got a call that Hand in Hand, the dayhab program that my two adult children with disabilities attend, was closing as well. The administrator asked if I would like the dayhab to send staff to the house to work with Aaron and Chana. While each additional person working in the house posed an increased risk of exposure to the virus, I had to consider the effects that no dayhab program at all would have on my children and their aides. I decided to accept the home dayhab program.

The next day two staff members showed up — Hannan, an Israeli in his late 20s who had been a paratrooper in the Israeli army, and a young woman of Italian descent who was at the beginning of her third trimester.

Less than two weeks later, my husband and I and our two younger kids came down with the virus. The female dayhab aide stopped coming — understandably, the risk was too high for her. The dayhab program had no one willing to replace her in a “COVID house.” But Hannan showed up every day, and did the work of two. Because he was there, I was able to stay away from my kids while I was sick, so they were not exposed.

After I recovered and was no longer contagious, I began coming downstairs to be with Aaron and Chana again. I could immediately see how the kids and Hannan had bonded. They would both light up when he walked into the house. But I also saw a difference in Hannan. He began saying brachos when I brought him coffee or food. We spoke often about Hashem and he told me how much working with my children helped him connect spiritually. In the months that followed, Hannan began keeping Shabbos and kashrus and davening with a minyan. He developed a relationship with a rav he is close with and learns with a chavrusa. Almost a year later, Hannan — and his kallah, Lauren! — have become a beloved part of our family, joining us for Shabbos meals and family simchahs, and we feel tremendous gratitude to Hashem for bringing them into our lives.

—Juby Shapiro-Charnowitz

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 854)