Rebecca, an Orthodox Jew from California, was two weeks away from her marriage to the son of a respected rabbi when medication she was taking for migraines triggered a debilitating stroke.

She fell to the floor of the emergency room where she was working as a manager and broke her neck, suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries. When her fiance saw the extent of her disability, he called off the wedding.

“We did everything the Orthodox way,” she said of their three-month engagement after being matched by family members. “I was in the hospital on my wedding day and they got out the wheelchair, and he was so frightened he backed off.”

Now 38 and walking again, Rebecca is single, but her Orthodox faith implores her to find a husband and build a family. So she sought spiritual guidance from three or four rabbis and has decided — with their blessing — to have her eggs frozen for the future, when she hopes she will marry and start a family.
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