Up to this point, I've been describing a garden-variety work injury; not a particularly serious one. It was painful for Dina and remains so to a degree. She never filled the prescription for morphine the hospital gave her, using ibuprofen instead. The blood that had gathered under the sacs of her eyes above her cheekbones has nearly gone away, the swelling in her nose is gone, and there is only a small bit of sensitivity in her teeth. She broke one rib, but it did not damage her internal organs, and at this point, she needs only one or two ibuprofen daily to relieve the pain.

That is not why we are in a little handbasket to hell.

Before I go further, I would like to make clear that others have had a worse ride than we have. Far worse. But, and this is the experience of someone who has lived on the street talking, when you don't have $1.00 in your pocket, a bill owed for just $10.00 is excessive. A bill owed for $100.00 can be a back-breaker.

The break to my wife's rib was nothing compared to the break we suffered in our finances. We were in desperate straits before she fell. I was looking for work through this computer and looking for an apartment to relocate us to at the end of July. We had a warning notice from the electric company and had to keep enough money in the bank to pay the cell-phone bill. Dina's upcoming check was to cover the rent due on 1 June. In order to satisfy the landlord, I had to give him dated checks at the end of April or move immediately. He has already deposited the checks.

We do not have a credit card, but with some quick talking and hard searching for work, we could have just gotten by.

Now Dina's paycheck will not cover the rent. We are down to NIS 21 ($4.73) in the bank with an outstanding rent check for NIS 2,760 ($621) to be drawn on 1 June. Her paycheck will be roughly NIS 1,500 ($337.50). MaD"A gave us a bill for NIS 790 ($177.75) for the ambulance ride, which would normally be covered had my wife been admitted to the hospital. But she wasn't. In addition, the hospital Emergency Department handed us a bill for NIS 505 ($113.63). The problems do not end there. I had been unable to pay our health insurance premiums and now owe the health insurer NIS 1,105 ($248.63), plus owing the National Insurance Institute NIS 810 ($182.25). This also means that we may owe the hospital a lot more money than we apparently do.