Living with Severe Brain Damage and Loving Sisters

Ezri lives with severe brain damage that was caused by encephalitis as a newborn. Now almost an adult, he is surrounded by sisters who plan to care for him throughout life. Together the family describes themselves as "open, connected and atypical in a good way".

SBSK's Socials:

[teshuvatolchin]

thank you chris! ezri had so much fun filming with you and so did all of us. thank you for giving disabled people an opportunity to have real and respectful representation. We love you guys!

[motsyb.]

Shout out to the youngest sister. She is so sweet to Ezri! I love her personality so much! Everyone else is also so loving and nurturing to him. It makes me happy to see.

[EStramel]

I love the dad’s response of: “Do you always know what you’re trying to express?”.

That’s a great response to the question.

[ekfarley]

Yo, to the sister who said “I talk to him like an adult because he is one”

Yazzzz! As a person with a disability I want to give you a round of applause for GETTING IT! That’s AWESOME that you figured that out!!!

Every disabled person has the right to their adulthood and often times that is taken from us. Thank you for acknowledging our adulthood.

[edenoknin]

Wow I used to nanny for this family!! Can’t even put into words how happy I am to see you interviewed them they are amazing! It’s crazy to see how they’ve all grown up. Ezri is one of the most spiritual kids I’ve ever met. Sending love to the family (hope you guys see this!)

[HarroKitteh]

It's crazy cool how all the sisters seem to have a unique approach with how they interact with Ezri, they all have a special bond :)

[sabisabi.]

Aw, Ezri looks like he's having a really good time. He definitely has a very, very good sense of what is going on around him -- and he was lovely, supportive sisters. What a wonderful and beautiful family.

[lucilleavakian]

My heart goes out to Ezri's mom because of the pediatrician dismissing the concerns about Ezra. Valuable time was lost. That part is so heartbreaking. I have had problems with not being taken seriously by doctors as well, and receiving incorrect diagnoses leading to inappropriate treatments and medications which further increased the severity of my problems rather than improving my condition. It is lovely to see Ezri with his sisters and to hear his father speak about Ezrais affinitty for Jewish religeous services. Yom Kippur is challenging for anyone to sit for 6 hours. Even if you go with the simplistic notion that God is love, it's easy to see Ezri's connection to love in his family and so spiritually encouraging to hear that he recognizes that love in the practices of Judaism.

[tylerholman]

The youngest sister is so adorable, she’s the most attentive with Ezri and seems to have kind of a special relationship with him. What a blessing for the parents to have gotten a daughter like her

[ceegee]

The father when he pointed out NONE of us can ALWAYS express exactly what we are trying to say or how we feel ! So true

[kileysimon]

This one made my heart happy. I’m not a religious person, but for whatever reason the spirituality of this family hits home for me. This family is so incredibly full of love for each other. It doesn’t feel forced. It’s genuine love and care for each other.

[__lemonade]

3:50 I'm fascinated by how well the youngest sister knows how to ask him a this/that question. I get the vibe from this that she has her own distinct way of understanding and interacting with him because she's further in age from him than the other two younger sisters are. She's never known anything other than a much older disabled sibling. As an age gap older sibling, I really do believe that siblings who are further apart in age have a much different relationship than siblings who are closer in age.

[cynthiaconnors]

The one sister that speaks to
Ezri like the adult he is, is a smart young lady. It is respectful to Ezri and will likely help with his communication skills and behaviors as well. Great job! Wonderful family with wonderful faith.

[jessicamundia]

Did anyone notice that ezri gets up and walks away when people start talking about a)how he got sick and b)the difficulties in taking care of him.

[LilMoco]

Ezri seems like so much fun! And he's definitely got an amazing set of sisters to accompany him along for his journey!

[stdaughter]

I've seen this thread throughout several of the videos on this channel where a sister, generally an older sister, already knows without a doubt that her disabled sibling is going to be part of her household as an adult. I'm so moved by the sentiment and certainty they possess, and of course, the love, adoration, and care they bestow on their sibling.

[Coopermaee]

I love the discussions on the intersection of Judaism and disability. It’s wonderful to see how different religions and cultures embrace disability. Seeing disability so engrained in deep spiritual belief is really encouraging to see

[GrimlynGaming]

I like how he gets excited being bossy, not because someone does what he says but because they listened and understood, especially with a stranger. He's definitely blessed to have such a loving family, and I'd say the way they feel, they're blessed to have him.

[musiconly]

I have an aunt with severe autism. My gran (her carer) sadly died from cancer when my aunt was in her 40's. Before my gran died, my other aunt offered to become her carer. Both my aunts are in their 70s now, and still coping very well together. It's so nice to hear this sister offering to take her brother in

[triplefresh]

Having a Jewish family in the SBSK family being represented makes me so happy and feel so welcome. Kol Hakavod (good job in Hebrew)! Beautiful family