| A Personal
Note... By Dr. Hava-Yael Schreiber /
Medical Director of ZC (Summer 04) |
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Rosh Hashana last year
I cried… for all these years of prayers, of silent despair,
of internal sufering, when I was supposed to cheer and encourage
everybody, to treat, help and support, while feeling broken inside.
I asked Hashem to give me the strength to accept His will, since
it looked like I would never know what childbearing/childbirth
would be like.... or so I thought!
Hashem had in store for me a tremendous gift,
the gift of life, life growing inside me. When I found out "the
news", I remember I said that I just wanted to stop the clock,
to arrest the time on that "minute of perfect absolute happiness".
How I feared that worries and even disappointments might come
later. I just wanted to share with my husband a few moments of
sheer intense joy....
But actually the happy moments just piled up
on top of each other: the first ultra-sound, where we see a teeny-tiny
heartbeat, the gift of life is growing... the first movements
inside me; the "morphologic" ultra-sound where I could
finally relax and see that "all looks normal"....
Beautiful, radiant, blossoming, utterly feminine: that's what
I felt during my pregnancy. I cherished every little "Tsures",
like bleeding hemorrhoids, joking: "ah, now I know what it
is!" I was accepted into "the club", I got through
the initiation process.
Then, the birth.... Big worries, the desire to
"experience it all" and also to "get it right",
to fully appreciate the meaning of that other rite of passage,
not accepting the too easy "elective cesarean" that
most doctors were so eager to administrate, given my age and the
"preciousness" of this pregnancy (aren't they all?)...
I ended up having a cesarean anyway, but at least we tried, and
I feel I grew tremendously, having been through "real labor"
nevertheless.
Now I have this gorgeous
perfect little human being in my total care, I revel in
his abandon and trust, I enjoy the intimacy of these night
feedings, he is all snuggled against me, sucking intensely,
but eyes closed, looking so content. He is so soft, so sweet,
so adorable.... I know, probably all mothers feel the same,
still, he is SOOOOO cute!
This year on Rosh Hashana, I brought him with me to Shul,
in the Snuggli, cuddling up to me. I cried again…
with joy and Hakarat Hatov for HaKadosh Baruch Hu, who showered
with such goodness. Now I am full of love and compassion
for the rest of humanity again, bitterness has deserted
me. And I pray that Kol Bat Israel should be blessed, -bekarov!,
with Bessorot Tovot and all Tefillot should be answered.
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Dr. Hava-Yael Schreiber with her husband,
Allen at their son’s bris |
I will have to go back to work soon, and deal
with the difficult balance of juggling the needs of the Tsibur,
and the needs of my little Schmuel-David, trying to give my best
to each. I will try, B"H.
BS"D
“Dear Dr. Schreiber,
I would like to thank you for the great help that you gave
me, and with your ZCHUT we now have 2 baby girls in our
family,BARUCH HASHEM.
I was in your office only for one visit, so I am not sure
If you remember me. We are currently in the United States,
on SHLICHUT From my husband’s work. During our visit
to Israel, in August 2002/Elul 5762, I had an appointment
with you at your office in Givat Shaul. My problem was………..
You prescribed a number of medications for me to take. I
took the medicines for less than a month and BARUCH HASHEM
I conceived, and thankfully we were blessed after Chag Shavuot
with healthy twin girls. My husband and I are extremely
grateful to you. I have been by quite a number of doctors,
took many tests and different medications, but only what
you prescribed actually led to my conceiving.
We are now getting ready to come back to Israel B’ezrat
H-sham, and I hope I will be able to thank you personally.”
[Received on 10th July 2003]
| Sitting
in the Hospital, Our Story (Received 2004) |
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Personal account
By well-wishers from the USA
Sitting In the hospital, having just been told that I
was having a miscarriage, only a few weeks after our wedding
and arrival from chutz l’aretz, my husband and I were
scared. We reassured each other that this was just a bump
in the road. But when, a few months later, there were still
problems, we went looking for help. All roads, through much
hashgacha pratis, led to Dr. Schreiber and Zir Chemed.
To understand Zir Chemed one must first understand the
people involved, starting from the top. Initially, we were
sent to the indefatigable Rabbi Tennenbaum by our rav from
New York who had hosted him in his home on one of his fund-raising
missions to the United States. When this rav had heard about
my problem he had called Rabbi Tennenbaum and told him that
he now had a chance to demonstrate what his organization
is about. Rabbi Tennenbaum did not let him down.
At about the same time we were led to one of the outstanding,
compassionate and knowledgeable secretaries at Zir Chemed.
Through her we again heard about the wonderful work that
Zir Chemed does.
A few weeks later we were sitting in Dr. Schreiber’s
office where she diagnosed me with PCO (polycystic ovarian
disease). The office visits and medication can get expensive,
which is where Rabbi Tennenbaum (and everybody who supports
Zir Chemed) comes in. Through modern medicine (and many
trips to Terem for blood tests) I became pregnant. It was
the day we were leaving for Pesach in chutz l’aretz
that we got the call and the excitement in Dr. Schreiber
and the secretary’s voices almost equaled ours.
But it doesn’t end there. Dr. Schreiber’s
counseling, understanding and caring for her patients goes
very deep. Even after I became pregnant and we were coming
for checkups every six weeks, you could tell how much she
cared. After our baby was born it was a simcha shared by
all involved.
While living in a young community there is always a feeling
of pressure to have another child, especially when your
friends are on their second and third children. When our
son was eight months old I felt the urge to get started
with the process of having another child, and again I consulted
with Dr. Schreiber. She told me to relax and not stop nursing
one child in order to start taking medication to have another.
Again, it was the best advice, as we let things run their
natural course. In the proper time, with Dr. Schreiber’s
help, I became pregnant and had another son.
The care is special, the people are special, and the surroundings
are special. The ability to go to a religious obstetrician
like Dr. Schreiber who understands the basic human desire
for a child is something that I thank Hashem for constantly,
especially when I look at the two biggest gifts I’ve
ever received, my two sons.
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