cfcenter israel

[anonymous]

Hello,
My name is Colin Evans. I recently went to Israel to the CF center at the Dead Sea. I posted something about it on the family page and so did another girl who went. I really didn't get much response from many people. I am a 30 year old cf patient who was diagnosed at 6 months. I pretty much know and have lived the ins and outs of CF. I found a place and a treatment that shows significant results and no one really seems to give a damn or shows much interest. This center works people. So for all those interested in improving their overall health from lung function on down, please respond to this and look into it at www.cfcenter.co.il Thank You, Colin Evans

 

[anonymous]

Hey Collin im doing some travelling next yr and would love to find out more about this center thanx Leslie.
P.S my email is lizzard1200@hotmail.com

 

[anonymous]

I checked the site out. How much did it cost?

 

[anonymous]

around $140 a day.

 

[anonymous]

hi, i am the girl who went also. i have posted messages before on this topic and i agree that everyone should check it out. my airfare was about $900 and it was about $140..that included everything..room, treatments, food, doctors apts. good luck to all. catherine

 

[anonymous]

Hi,
I have been to the Dead Sea five times for 3 weeks in November/December. You can breathe better and don´t cough as much as normally. (And you don´t get sunburned as easily as elsewhere, because its so deep under sea-level).In the first year I have been to the Hod hotel also, the following years I stayed at the hotel Lot.
There are these two hotels where you can stay with cf. The staying in the Lot is organized by a German travel agency located in Munich( ip connections, email: ip-connections@kneppers.de). At first, it was all organized by them, then they had some difficulties with the organizer in Israel, and they divided.
I liked the food in the "Hod" a little bit more, especially the bread and the cakes. The sweetwater-pool is much bigger in the "Lot" and its not so cold. While Dr.Tal does normally come to the Hod once a week, there is a doctor in the Lot all the time and you don´t have to bring your Pari with you, you get a Pari Master during your stay. The two ladies, who do the daily physiotherapy are very good in massage like foot reflexology and Shiatsu, while when I stayed in the Hod, they did only Yoga (what I don´t like).

Uli,42,Germany

 

[anonymous]

Maybe not alot of responses because most of us are on disability. $900 airfare and $140 a day is alot for someone that is on limited income. 3 weeks of pleasure to come back to the same air I always have to breath doesn't seem worthwhile to me. Sorry. Becky

 

[anonymous]

becky- i totally know where you are coming from. colin and i are both on ssdi. and yes, at first i thought that there would be no way in hel i could afford it. but. since we are on ssdi and obviously don't make much you can recoup a lot in your taxes. so that is one thing, also my family and friends knew how good it would be for me so for xmas i got some money and just because they gave me some (hehe). so, there are ways. i don't know about the other hotel and the german but the man who started this is the most amazing and generous man i have met. from what i hear the germans parted ways because they struck up some deal with a travel agent. however, the government pays their trip. so i guess they have to do what their gov wants them to do. so, good luck with staying healthy but if you get teh chance look in to ways of getting there.. you won't regret it. catherine

 

[anonymous]

I have had a close look at both programs and I strongly suggest for all americans interested that they look into the CF center at the HOD hotel. As Catherine mentioned, the german government has pretty much made their bed with the Lott hotel. The lott program is more expensive ( over $20. more per night) with from what I can see,nothing to show for it. The lott is a rather shabby looking hotel also. The program at the HOD is where the research started and ideas concerning treatment are still coming from. I do not like the idea of using other CF patients mist machines either as the Lott program does. The HOD program is connected with prof. Asher Tal, Who is a renowned CF doctor. Thank you showing some interest. Colin

 

[Liza]

I responded to last post on the Dead Sea center but will input here as well. I had heard of the CF center at the Dead Sea while we were stationed in Germany almost 4yrs ago. What a wonderful place it sounded. At that time, when it was the most possible to go, I could not find anyone that had been there and never got around to consulting with my girls' CF doctor in the Netherlands. I have talked about it with my husband and my girls and we all think it would be a great place to go. We are considering sending our girls alone???? when the time comes. Most likely not for a year possibly two, then they will be 19/20 or 16/17 years. We have to budget for it with Anna going off to college in the fall, that alone is a small fortune. I love that you guys have continued to post about this center. I only wish I'd have known more when we were closer.

May I ask, how long did you feel the effect for after your return? I can't recall if I asked that last time. My husband wondered how long it seemed to last. I know I asked what kinds of side trips you took. That was Anna's question, what kinds of places can you visit while you are there. When you do your treatments, did you do them on your own like when you are home? What kinds of physio therape did you do while you were there? Percussion or deep cycles of breathing (autogenic drainage), flutter? Did you do them alone or did you see the physio therapist every time? The price includes your visits with the CF doctor, once a week right? I think Catherine gave me the info on the contact person before. I have visited with the site and assumed that the hotel associated with the center would be the one to stay with.

Liza
(mom of 2teen girls w/CF)

 

[anonymous]

liza- there are so many wonderful things i have to say about israel but it takes me forever to type. if you email me i will call you if you don't mind and i will answer any questions you may have. i think your girls will LOVE it. i know i did. it is a lot to think about but there are ways to make it work. i am trying to get my hospital, johns hopkins, involved and the word out so that maybe one day it will be covered by insurance. i have heard that many insur. companies cover alternative forms of therapy. you never know..but the more the word gets out the more opportunities there will be for everyone. catherine rckstr4@aol.com

 

[anonymous]

Hi Colin,
sorry to correct you, but its not the german government which is paying the trip to Israel.If we are lucky, our insurance pays for it, otherwise the german cf-organizations try to help us with the payment.
The travel agencies which organize the trips also for psoriasis-patients do have a catalogue with some hotels and the Lot is cheaper than the Hod in there.
I also did´t inhale "other peoples mist", you just get the (of course sterilized ) Pari, but bring your own smaller parts like the mouthpiece and you also get one of this steam-sterilizers for baby bottles, so you have less handluggage.
The price for the flight, a single room with refridgerator including three meals a day and a milkshake and some cake in the afternoon, seeing the doctor once a week( including lung function test and sport-test), 45 minutes of massage a day (except Saturday) and one hour of sports a day is about 3600 Euros for three weeks.

I heard that you had to share your room with Benny for a while, is that true?
I have not been in Israel during the last season, because my insurance didn´t want to pay for it, and I got the money from the cf-organizations last year already. Maybe it will be okay the next winter again...
I have also thought of staying at the other side of the dead sea in Jordania (Jordanien in german...)for a vacation, because you can do nice trips there, for example to the old town of Petra or the Wadi Rum and the climate will be the same as in Israel. But what I saw in the internet, the hotels there are also expensive...

Wish you luck
Uli,42,Germany

 

[anonymous]

Hi Uli,

I'm sorry that it took so long to get back with you. No Benny didn't have to stay in my room. I offered it to him while I was out misbehaving for a couple of nights. It is unfortunate that these rumours get started by the competition but I have witnessed worse out of them so I am not surprised. I don't know if the Jordanians have a CF program but if they do you can bet they "borrowed" the idea from the Israelis. I would hope that the Lott hotel does clean the equipment. It still gives me the creeps to think about it however. If it's your money that is getting spent then I would advise going to the Hod. Later, Colin

 

[anonymous]

Hi Colin,
I am the mother of CF patient, and I've heard about the benefits of this treatment in Israel. We've thought of making a trip there, but have been indecisive about which hotel to choose. I have heard only good things about the Hod and some good and bad about the Lot. I want my son to have the best treatment available, and I think we'll go to the Hod on your recommendation. How do I contact them?

 

[anonymous]

hi to all... I am the original poster of this subject. I just wanted to share some good information and my experiences in Israel at the Hod. I didn't want this to be a competition and I am not trying to drum up business. I am a cfer that wanted to help other cfers. Colin and I had a blast, we met nice people and our host benny was the most amazing man I had ever met. the only thing I have to say are good things about my trip. the cost and the hospitality can not be beat. 3600 euros is about 4000 American dollars so the prices are comparable with each program. however I feel it is totally ridiculous to go through a German organized program for Israel when you can go straight through the man who created it. don't be fooled by these German posters, this idea was benny pinkas's idea and they have managed to find a way to make a buck from his good will. that's fine with me, I couldn't care less about there program or there hotel. the hod is the best place for us and they don't compromise quality or care for the sake of a dollar. I encourage you to get in touch with benny. the web site it. www.cfcenter.co.il and good luck to you. Catherine

 

[anonymous]

To Liza:

Hi, you wanted to know something about the effects of the israel vacation. If you can read german, you could have a look at the site of one of the german cf-organizations, there is a study about it with some informations. Look at www.cf-aktiv.de . On the right side you can find the point "Klimatherapie". At the end of the following pictures and description you find "Studie zum Download", that´s it.

To eyeryone else:

Hi, I did not want any kind of competition either, I just wanted to share my experiences! If you read my first post, I wrote something "good and bad" about the Hod and the Lot!
As it is especially the climate which helps us, the hotel is not the most important thing...(thats why I think of "trying" Jordania just on my own without any organization)

Uli,Germany

 

[Liza]

Hi Uli, I can't read German, but I know a translation site, I can only read a German menu. After three and a half years there you'd think I would have learned to speak fluently. I will go look at the site you mentioned.

Thank you,
Liza
(mom of 2teen girls w/CF)