WELLBEING → LIFELINES Issue 637 · November 30, 2016

Thanking the Doctor

Doctors aren’t prophets. They have permission to heal, but not to make predictions. But only several years later did I learn Who the true Healer is

Thanking    the    Doctor

W hen I was expecting my sixth child I was diagnosed with a condition that was life-threatening to both the baby and me.

“This pregnancy is not viable” my doctor warned. “The baby will either die before birth or be born a vegetable. You might die too.”

What is a Jewish woman supposed to do when she hears such words? The first thing I did was talk to Hashem. “Ribbono shel Olam” I said “the child born before this has serious mental and physical disabilities. They’re telling me that if this baby survives it will be a vegetable. I can’t handle two disabled children!”

The next thing I did together with my husband was speak to a rav. He advised us to get a second opinion and referred us to a specialist Dr. Hartstein. “Right now there is no immediate danger to you or the baby ” Dr. Hartstein told me. “So let’s monitor the situation. When it becomes dangerous we can take action then.”

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