For Dvora her change in career, all started with an invitation to the opening ceremony of a new medical center for elderly people. As part of the ceremony, alternative treatments were introduced, including medical clowning.
"I always loved to use humor and I often used it as an aid to overcome difficult situations. As a nurse I was always searching for new ways to help people and I felt that to be a clown would give me additional tools," Dvora said, as we sat together in her home.
"I really wanted to do the course immediately, but the registration was closed and the clerk told me that I would have to wait at least a year before the next registration."
Dvora felt that she had no time to waste. "I wasn't 20 years old anymore, and I felt if I need to wait a year, I might change my , so I turned to my family for help."
In the past Dvora had studied many subjects and her husband would often see her passions as just another 'crazy idea.' So when she broke the news to him that she wanted to be a professional medical clown it came as a surprise that he not only found the idea intriguing, but also gave her ideas on how to approach the head of the department who was responsible for the course.
"I dressed up in a costume and with an intention to be humorous I went to talk to the head of the department. Obviously he liked my 'performance' because he gave me an immediate entrance to the already full booked course." Dvora started her studies the next week.
"It all felt like I was on the right path, that this is what I needed to do. The course was closed already, but it opened for me, and I was taken on board even without a proper audition. My husband supported me though the study course was not cheap. Everything just worked out."
Medical clowns follow the foot steps of Patch Adams, who graduated as an elderly medical doctor in 1971, convinced of the powerful connection between environment and wellness.
He believes that healing should be a loving human interchange, not a business transaction, and that the health of an individual cannot be separated from the health of the family, community and the world.
"I interpret my experience in life as being happy. I want, as a doctor, to say it does matter to your health to be happy. It may be the most important health factor in your life," says Dr. Adams.
Patch Adams claims that humor helps because smiling and laughing triggers the secretions of morphine-like chemicals known as endorphins. Endorphins strengthen the immune system that is responsible for fighting disease and enhancing recovery, reducing pain, and relaxing the body.
"The course itself is a lot of fun, it teaches you to laugh, we learn magic, a bit of telepathy, how to walk, how to dress, how to make animals from balloons and such," Dvora continues. "After I graduated I decided to work only with the elderly. Clowns are always present in children wards, and children are never left alone - there is always family around, but with elderly it's different, they are often alone. They might get the treatments, but, often, more than that no one provides for them."
She remembers the honour of being invited to the birthday party of a gentleman of 102 years. "He was really excited about being entertained by a clown and afterwards took all the balloon animals to his room."
The most important effect of such performances for the elderly is to be able to distract them. "Sick people in hospitals, especially elderly are always thinking about their illness, thoughts like - will I heal, how is my life going to be after, who will help me? Such questions do not give them
peace of mind to heal. By showing them how to laugh at their situation, they can, many times, heal faster. Humor doesn't necessarily alter a situation, but it can help you to cope," explains Dvora.
To learn to be a clown is not easy. The course is neither cheap nor short, and Dvora who is nearly sixty kept her daytime job to be able to support her studies.
After graduation she invested in costumes, magic kits, balloons and other small accessories. The magic accessories need to be renewed every once in a while to keep her act fresh and interesting, but according her opinion it is worth all the efforts. "The best reward is to see my patients laughing; I'm energized after every visit."
Dvora's biggest challenge is to connect to patients on a personal level. Jokes are also always born on stage, there isn't anything prewritten, because the joke, the laugh is always suited to the person in need.
And the show isn't just about laughter; it's a lot about love and attention. "Just a little care can make a huge difference in a patient's life. In hospitals ever so often patients get the best medical care, but no one really has the time to asks them how they feel. In my work I concentrate on the person and making her or him laugh. Consequently for the time that I am clowning I can make someone feel like the most important person in the world."
Nowadays Dvora has taken her clowning further and has started a laughter workshop suited for old age homes and community centers, where people can learn about the positive effects of laughter." In her workshop she introduces laughter as a painkiller and mood enhancer, and offers hands on tips how to start laughing. "Laughter releases tension and stress, it also makes us feel lighter, and it doesn't cost a dime to start!"
And the bottom line, according to Dvora, is - Fake it, fake it till you make it.