Sharon Klein awoke with a start. Am I really going to be marrying off my youngest child today, she wondered.

Memories of the weddings of her older children flashed through her mind. Her husband David had always been by her side, beaming with pride, offering his silent support, and sharing the joy with her. This time, it would be different. David would be there with her, but only in spirit.

Sharon looked out the window. It was a rainy winter day. The chuppah will have to be indoors, Sharon thought.

Before she knew it, it was time to leave for the wedding hall. Josh, the groom, squeezed Sharon's hand as they left the house. He knew the wedding would be a bittersweet event for her. He missed his father too.

The guests began to arrive. Sharon walked to her seat near the bride, her radiant face belying the overpowering emotions she felt. Struggling to maintain her composure, she didn't notice the step leading up to her seat.

Sharon hit the floor with a sickening thud. The pain in her side was excruciating. Call an ambulance, she heard someone say.

"Don't call an ambulance," she insisted. "I'm okay. I don't need to go to the hospital." Josh was not going to be without either parent at his wedding.

The bride's mother came to the rescue.

"Don't worry, Sharon," she whispered. "We have a family friend who is an EMT and drives an Ezer Mizion ambulance. I'll call him to come and look at you."

"Thank you," Sharon whispered gratefully.

Eli, the Ezer Mizion ambulance driver, arrived within minutes. "Probably a broken hip," he said. "You'll need to go to the hospital right away."

"Please, please, don't make me miss my youngest son's wedding," Sharon begged. "Who will take him to the chuppah? No father and no mother?"

Eli thought quickly. Sharon needed medical attention soon. But what would happen if they waited until after the chuppah to take her to the hospital?

Gently, Eli moved Sharon onto a wheelchair. "We can wait until after the chuppah to take you to the hospital," he said.

Sharon knew better than to argue.

"I pushed Mrs. Klein in a wheelchair down the aisle to the chuppah, next to her new daughter-in-law," Eli told Shlomo, the ambulance dispatcher at Ezer Mizion's Jerusalem branch. "I even wheeled her around the groom the customary seven times," he recalled.

"It was the first time I ever walked a bride to the chuppah," he said, "And hopefully the last time I'll go down the aisle pushing a wheelchair!"