After revealing his wife's serious illness - and after the interview he gave last night to the program 'Uvda', Benny Gantz commented today (Friday) in a post he published on his social media accounts, alongside a photo of himself with his wife Revital, apparently from better days. He spoke about the struggle, how he learned to live with the illness, and also why he decided to publish it now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And so he wrote: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\""I have known quite a few battles in my life - as a soldier and later also in the political field. As a warrior, from the very first days I learned that there is no battle that cannot be won, and there is no goal that cannot be conquered. Until that battle, which began more than six years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I met Revital, the love of my life, the mother of my children and my life partner, 40 years ago, when I was a cadet in the paratroopers. Since then, we have been walking together on an extraordinary life journey. We were together in the most critical moments, at the decisive crossroads of life. We made all the decisions together. We crossed continents, we knew moments of happiness and also challenging moments. We grew as a couple and as people, and together we built a home and brought four children into the world, who are the pride of my life. Of our lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I will never forget that damn day, more than six years ago, when I learned that Reutel had Alzheimer's. I didn't really know what it meant and what the future held for him, but I realized that the woman I knew was going to change, and with her, so was I and the entire family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alzheimer's is a serious disease. And honestly, sometimes embarrassing. A disease that changed my life and the lives of my beloved children, and changed Revital's life beyond recognition. It changed our home and our souls. For a long time I tried to find a way to win this battle, until I realized I couldn't. Not this battle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You don't win it - you learn to live with it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I relearned to live alongside the woman who is the love of my life. I relearned to communicate with her, to talk to her, to make her smile, to listen to her - sometimes even without words. I learned to live with the changes, in body and mind. To live and accept the fact that the person closest to me is changing before my eyes rapidly, and I have no power to stop it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I learned to appreciate the little things - every moment together, every little window of clarity that suddenly appears, every smile. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It wasn't easy for me to come out with my story and Revital's. I was worried about our children, about the family, about her. But we decided together that the time had come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Revital is only ours, but her story is also the story of many others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I decided that now is the time - just before the book I've been writing for years is published. A book that Ruytel and I planned to write together, which was once our shared dream. Unfortunately, I'm forced to publish it without her - but with her and for her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All proceeds from the book will be donated to the Israeli Alzheimer's Medical Center, in the hope that they will help additional families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I embrace and thank the hundreds of people who have contacted me since the article aired yesterday, who have supported us and been excited along with us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Israel, there are over one hundred and fifty thousand men and women who are dealing with Alzheimer's disease and their families. We discovered Revital's disease too late. If, thanks to our story, one person, one family, manages to discover it earlier, delay this serious disease, cope better or simply stop being ashamed - I have done my part.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Helping someone else - for me, for my family, and I'm sure for Revital too, who dedicated most of her adult life to helping others - will be the greatest victory of all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yours and yours,
"My son"\"<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u05d0\u05d7\u05e8\u05d9 \u05d7\u05e9\u05d9\u05e4\u05ea \u05d4\u05de\u05d7\u05dc\u05d4 \u05d4\u05e7\u05e9\u05d4 \u05e9\u05dc \u05d0\u05e9\u05ea\u05d5 - \u05d5\u05d0\u05d7\u05e8\u05d9 \u05d4\u05e8\u05d0\u05d9\u05d5\u05df \u05e9\u05d4\u05e2\u05e0\u05d9\u05e7 \u05d0\u05de\u05e9 \u05dc\u05ea\u05d5\u05db\u05e0\u05d9\u05ea '\u05e2\u05d5\u05d1\u05d3\u05d4', \u05d1\u05e0\u05d9 \u05d2\u05e0\u05e5 \u05d4\u05ea\u05d9\u05d9\u05d7\u05e1 \u05d4\u05d9\u05d5\u05dd (\u05e9\u05d9\u05e9\u05d9) \u05d1\u05e4\u05d5\u05e1\u05d8 \u05e9\u05e4\u05e8\u05e1\u05dd \u05d1\u05d7\u05e9\u05d1\u05d5\u05e0\u05d5\u05ea \u05e9\u05dc\u05d5 \u05d1\u05e8\u05e9\u05ea\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05d7\u05d1\u05e8\u05ea\u05d9\u05d5\u05ea, \u05dc\u05e6\u05d3 \u05ea\u05de\u05d5\u05e0\u05d4 \u05e9\u05dc\u05d5 \u05d9\u05d7\u05d3 \u05e2\u05dd \u05d0\u05e9\u05ea\u05d5 \u05e8\u05d5\u05d9\u05d8\u05dc, \u05db\u05db\u05dc \u05d4\u05e0\u05e8\u05d0\u05d4 \u05de\u05d9\u05de\u05d9\u05dd \u05d8\u05d5\u05d1\u05d9\u05dd \u05d9\u05d5\u05ea\u05e8, \u05d4\u05d5\u05d0 \u05e1\u05d9\u05e4\u05e8 \u05e2\u05dc \u05d4\u05d4\u05ea\u05de\u05d5\u05d3\u05d3\u05d5\u05ea, \u05d0\u05d9\u05da \u05dc\u05de\u05d3 \u05dc\u05d7\u05d9\u05d5\u05ea \u05dc\u05e6\u05d3 \u05d4\u05de\u05d7\u05dc\u05d4 \u05d5\u05d2\u05dd \u05dc\u05de\u05d4 \u05d4\u05d7\u05dc\u05d9\u05d8 \u05dc\u05e4\u05e8\u05e1\u05dd \u05d0\u05ea \u05d6\u05d4 \u05d3\u05d5\u05d5\u05e7\u05d0 \u05e2\u05db\u05e9\u05d9\u05d5. \u05d5\u05db\u05da \u05db\u05ea\u05d1: […]","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1073793,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[10248,3146,37030],"class_list":["post-1073792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-1","tag-10248","tag-3146","tag-37030"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n