When you have a family of 11 children, the addition of another child can become somewhat of a routine event. But, such was hardly the case for Rabbi Mendel Katzman and his wife, Shani, when child No. 12 arrived last year at The Nebraska Medical Center.
“We believe there was a miracle here,” Rabbi Katzman said. “Divine intervention was clearly present. The doctors worked together with God to save the lives of my wife and son. We like to call it our Passover miracle.”
 |
Zalmen Katzman celebrates his first birthday party in the arms of Teresa Berg, M.D., one of the UNMC physicians who helped deliver him. |
The miracle birth took place on April 28, 2003. The pregnancy had complications from the beginning and eventually it became necessary to hospitalize Shani and try to extend the pregnancy for as long as possible. She spent the last five weeks of her pregnancy in University Tower and, before that, two months of bed rest at home.
On the day she delivered, her physician, Teresa Berg, M.D., just happened to be visiting Shani’s hospital room when she began hemorrhaging. Dr. Berg knew an emergency delivery was in order.
“We needed to do an emergency c-section right away,” Dr. Berg said. “The baby was born about 10 minutes after she first started hemorrhaging. It needed to be done quickly. If we waited, both the baby and the mother could have died within 30 to 60 minutes due to the loss of blood. In this age of availability of blood products and surgical knowledge, we take for granted the risk of such events.”
The delivery was the easiest part of the procedure, Dr. Berg said. Shani’s placenta had gone through the wall of her uterus and completely replaced the lower portion of her uterus. “This is dangerous,” Dr. Berg said, “because when this happens the placenta can act like a cancer and invade other organs such as the bladder and rectum.”
 |
The Katzman family came together to celebrate Zalmen Katzman’s first birthday in the atrium of the Durham Research Center. Parents are Rabbi Mendel Katzman and his wife, Shani. The couple’s 12 children include: First row (left-right) — Zalmen, Shevi, Miri, Mushka and Feigy; Second Row — Chani, Yossi and Zelig; Third Row — Rochi, Levy, Estie and Devorah. |
Dr. Berg, associate professor in the UNMC Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, brought in her boss, Carl Smith, M.D., professor and department chairman, to assist in the surgery. Working together, the two perinatologists were able to remove the placenta and stop the bleeding.
The baby – a boy named Zalmen – was born nearly three months premature. He weighed only 2 pounds, 14 ounces. Like most premature babies, his lungs were not fully developed. He spent the next two months in the University Tower Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) while his lungs developed.
Because Zalmen was so premature, the Katzmans were worried that he would have developmental problems. Such was not the case. As he celebrates his first birthday, Zalmen appears to be perfectly normal. He is crawling and eats solid food. Like most babies, he spends the majority of his time in the arms of one of his adoring family members.
With both Shani and Zalmen successfully surviving the harrowing birth experience, the Katzmans thought it was appropriate to hold a birthday party at UNMC to say thanks to the physicians and health professionals who helped make it possible.
The party was held April 15 in the lobby of the Durham Research Center. Drs. Berg and Smith attended, as well as several staff members from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D., who is a friend of the Katzman family.
“This was our way of saying thanks. We wanted to publicly thank God and the doctors,” Rabbi Katzman said. “When the stakes are a little higher, you go to the best. We went to UNMC, and we received the highest level of professionalism.”
All the Katzman children attended the birthday party along with other friends and relatives. The Katzmans presented the medical professionals involved in the care of Shani and Zalmen with porcelain beacons. The beacons were personalized for each health professional with a thank you “for being a beacon of light.” In addition, Dr. Maurer was given a plaque entitled “A Doctor’s Prayer.” It provides an upbeat message on what makes a good physician.
 |
UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D. was awarded a plaque by Rabbi Mendel Katzman. The plaque was entitled “Doctor’s Prayer” and featured an upbeat message on what makes a good physician. |
“The Jewish tradition has it that with every doctor comes an angel,” Rabbi Katzman said, “and there are definitely many angels hanging around the Medical Center. It’s said that one mitzvah (good deed) leads to another mitzvah. When people experience something like this, it affects them in a positive way. This was one of the collateral benefits of Zalmen’s long hospital stay. We met so many nice people.”
One of those nice people the family encountered at the medical center was Louri Sullivan, a hospital volunteer who works as a comforter rocking babies in the NICU. Rabbi Katzman said Sullivan spent a great deal of time rocking Zalmen and the Katzmans really appreciated her efforts.
Rabbi Katzman is director of Chabad House, a community center for religious, social and community programs located at 1866 S. 120th St