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May 12, 2000/7 Iyar 5760, Vol. 52, No.36
Support for stricken boy a class act
LEISAH NAMM
Staff Writer
When Alex Ambrose, 12, returned to school on April 24 after his third open-heart surgery, his class welcomed him with open arms.
"We're so glad he's back," said Denise Garfinkel, Alex's fifth-grade teacher at The PARDeS School at Temple Solel.
Alex was born with tetralogy of Fallot, a combination of four congenital heart defects. During his most recent surgery, on April 4 at Phoenix Children's Hospital, Alex received a donor valve.
Although Alex "is not great at expressing how he feels, I know he was overwhelmed by the support and I really, truly believe that Alex is here because of something more than just human medicine," said his mother, Susie Ambrose.
She was referring to the support she and her family received from the Jewish community. The Scottsdale family of four - which includes dad Keith and brother Max, 9 - belong to Temple Solel.
The school's 80 pupils, from kindergartners to fifth-graders, made get-well cards for Alex, Garfinkel said.
Before leaving the hospital, his room was filled with posters, cards and gifts and "looked like we'd been there for a month," Susie said.
On the day of the surgery, Garfinkel shut off the classroom lights at 1 p.m., the time of the surgery, and the class prayed for Alex. Prayers were also said for him during the school's daily, morning-prayer sessions.
During his three-week absence, his classmates produced a movie about him.
"The reason we chose to do the movie is because it's something he does on his own time and likes to share with the class," Garfinkel said.
A parent loaned a video camera to Garfinkel and she taped a half-hour trivia game show written by his classmates and titled "Who Wants To Be an Alex Ambrose?" It was based on one of Alex's favorite shows, "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?"
Max was a surprise guest in the movie. Garfinkel gave her class a little bit of time each day to work on the production.
The project was a "whole community thing," Garfinkel said. "(The class) really took part in wanting to take care of him."
Susie Ambrose said she was "overwhelmed by the acts of human kindness" directed toward her family.
"It would be different if you asked for it. It's unsolicited visits at 2 o'clock in the morning," she says.
One example she gave was Dr. Paul Bakerman, a pediatric intensive care specialist whose child is a classmate of Alex. On Bakerman's first day off in three weeks, he spent 5 1/2 hours in the waiting room with her.
"All the kids learned so much about having faith, saying prayers, how important it is to have your health, how much friendship means," she said. "Everybody learned so much from it. Thank God we can say 'thank you' to them."
Alex said he "felt really loved and cared for. I'm grateful to have such great friends."
"To say that we were overwhelmed by our community and especially our school would have to be an understatement," said his mom. "We will forever remember that our school put its words into actions.
"As a result, we all learned so many important lessons about community, kindness and acceptance."
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