In memory of Ariel, a special gift

The bat mitzvah was supposed to be life affirming. And in the end, it is.

By EILEEN SCHULTE
© St. Petersburg Times
published April 13, 2002

PALM HARBOR -- The drive to her daughter's bat mitzvah was the most wrenching of Lynn Goldman's life.

A wave of grief gripped Goldman. She could barely finish the 12-mile trip to Temple Ahavat Shalom from her home in New Port Richey.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. March 8 was supposed to be a happy occasion. But Goldman was not happy, even though she was proud of her daughter Ariel, who had studied Hebrew since the third grade to prepare for this milestone.

This was the day she would be considered a woman in the eyes of God.

Instead, her family believes, Ariel Goldman was with God.

The 11-year-old died nearly a year earlier, May 15, 2001. She had arterio-venous, or AVM, a rare condition marked by an abnormal collection of blood vessels in the brain. It caused a massive brain hemorrhage.

Her father, Dr. Stephen Goldman, had gone into her room to wake her for school that morning. But he found her lifeless body curled up on a rug beside her bed.

Ariel had looked forward to her bat mitzvah, and her family made the decision to go forward with it.

It wasn't easy.

Lynn Goldman had to steady herself to give a speech to the 500 friends and family members who had gathered at the temple. She told them that Ariel was her whole heart, that without her daughter she could barely put one foot in front of the other. At bat mitzvahs, it is customary to give gifts, and there was a big one parked outside in the temple lot.

A new red and white ambulance.

Members of Stephen Goldman's family, who wish to remain anonymous, bought the vehicle through Magen David Adom, an organization that helps Israel's Army Medical Corps, providing emergency medical care to refugees and the wounded, and first aid and shelter to civilians.

The standard ambulance cost $54,900 and took a month to build.

"I thought (the gift) was awesome, especially in this critical time," said Lynn Goldman. Last month, after friends and relatives at Ariel's bat mitzvah service inspected it, it was driven to Baltimore and loaded onto a ship headed for Israel. It is expected to arrive in the country within the next few days.

Once it reaches the docks, it will be loaded with medical supplies, filled with gas and put into service that day.

Gary Kenzer, executive director of Magen David Adom U.S.A., said the organization will keep the Goldman family informed about the vehicle's activities, including how many victims of suicide bombers and shootings it transports -- especially in cases of mass casualties.

Ariel's ambulance will be parked in someone's garage when not in service.

He estimated that there are 600 ambulances in Israel, and said more are needed because "Israel only has donated ambulances. A vast majority, 70 percent, are sent in someone's memory."

Each ambulance carries a message from the donor. On one door of Ariel's ambulance, the inscription reads:

Presented to the people of Israel in loving memory of Ariel Nicole Rothchild Goldman, Aug. 30, 1989 -- May 15, 2001. You will never be forgotten and will always fill a special place in our heart and soul. New Port Richey, Florida, U.S.A. 2002.

On the other door there is this message:

Your life was precious as are the lives this ambulance shall carry.

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