Dr. Hunter Patch Adams (known as Patch Adams) eulogized yesterday, Wednesday, the late Nechama Rivlin, the wife of the President. He spoke about the strong impression that Nechama Rivlin had left on him, on the deep and sincere dialogue he was able to hold with her, and he sought to strengthen President Reuven Rivlin and the entire nation in Israel during this difficult time.
Dr. Patch Adams, one of the pioneers of medical clowning in the world, who was known for the Hollywood film named after him, in which the late actor Robin Williams portrayed him, received, two years ago, the Life Achievement Award for 2017 from the Danielle Foundation in recognition of his life's work to promote ‘Medicine with a Heart’, and his extraordinary attention to patients in all parts of the world.
President Ruvi Rivlin presented the award to Dr. Adams, and the President’s wife Nechama also participated in the ceremony. After receiving the award, Adams was invited to the President's residence for a meal together with the president and his wife.
“I have a picture of the two of us embracing, and you can see an excited spark in her eyes... I remember the encounter between us as a meeting of love and peace,” Adams said in his recorded words. He concluded his message with the concluding words of one of Pablo Neruda's love sonnets “live in my absence as in a house...”
Absence is such a large house
that you’ll walk through the walls,
hang pictures in sheer air.
Absence is such a transparent house
that even being dead, I will see you there,
and if you suffer, Love, I’ll die a second time.
“The Danielle Prize - Healing with a Heart" is awarded annually to 12 medical personnel, each year from a different medical field. This year, the prize will be awarded to family physicians who excel in devoted care of patients and their families. The award is given in memory of the late Danielle Sonnenfeld, a volunteer in the oncology ward at the Schneider Children's Hospital, who was killed in a car accident on her way home at the end of a day of volunteering, at the age of 20.