Iowa City, IA – This Thanksgiving ‘Todah’ To Hashem For ‘Divine Intervention’ In Son’s Health Says Rabbi

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    Rabbi Avremel Blesofsky, with his son at his Upsherin Menachem Mendel Blesofsky on Nov 1 2011. Photo courtesy to VIN NewsIowa City, IA – Menachen Mendel Blesofsky and his family will not be celebrating Thanksgiving in the sense of the traditional holiday.

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    As Orthodox Jews, the Blesofskys, of Iowa City, give thanks in prayer three times a day. And at just 3 years old, Mendel already has quite a few reasons to be thankful.

    Mendel was born with an interrupted aortic arch, a congenital heart defect present at birth that causes obstructions in the heart and greater vessels.

    Rabbi Avremel Blesofsky, Mendel’s father, said his son’s condition was unknown until a midwife noticed the infant’s labored breathing while seeing if Mendel was ready for his circumcision on the eighth day after his birth — a milestone in Jewish tradition.

    Mendel was rushed to the emergency room of the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Avremel said.

    “So if not for that visit by the midwife, I don’t know if we’d be talking today about the ceremony,” he said. “That’s how divine intervention came into play. I could say with close to certainty that it saved his life.”

    Blending medical care and faith
    That hospital visit has been followed by three years of cardiology checkups, tests and several surgeries. His first surgery was when he was 12 days old, with the second coming about six months later.

    Mendel’s third surgery, which took place in August, originally was slated to last about 10 hours, but because of complications, he was in surgery for almost twice as long.

    And through it all, as doctors and nurses operated on their youngest of five children, Avremel and his wife, Chaya, turned to their faith.

    “In the Jewish perspective, the physician or the surgeon is a messenger of God,” Avremel said. “It’s not only the physical and medical intervention, but we also have to have the spiritual intervention as well, and that’s where the prayers, charity and good deeds come into play.”

    Avremel said he and Chaya, along with friends and family visiting throughout the day, kept vigil the hallway near elevator F on the fifth floor of UIHC — the point closest to the operating room — to be as close as possible to their son as they prayed and read psalms.

    “It was the longest day of my life,” Avremel said.

    Chaya said their many visits to the pediatrics intensive care unit were difficult, but were made easier with the support she received from doctors, nurses and members of the staff.

    “Although our belief is that it’s not just a person or a doctor that is controlling the healing, we want to give thanks to everybody,” she said.

    Tina Davenport, an advanced registered nurse practitioner in pediatrics cardiac surgery at UIHC, said while Jewish culture was unfamiliar to her, she felt inclined to help the family bridge the gap between their religion and the medical professionals and their procedures.

    “When you’re in this setting, you deal with a lot of people,” Davenport said. “I think what happened with Chaya and I was that I was able to develop that kind of relationship and a bond and I could be that filter for her.”

    Davenport has been a nurse since 1994 and joined the pediatrics cardiac surgery department in 2005. She said while every patient gets the utmost care, some tend to stick in your mind a little more than others, and Mendel and his family won’t soon be forgotten.

    “They are a wonderful example of learning through your patients. I learned a lot from them,” Davenport said. “They stick out in my mind. That’s why we do what we do here.”

    A milestone in Jewish culture
    On Nov. 1, Mendel’s third birthday, he Mendel celebrated Upsherin, a Jewish introduction into formal education. He began wearing a Yamaka and small shawl, called a Tzitzit, daily and now participates in daily prayers and blessings.

    The traditional event — in which the boy’s long hair was cut by family members and friends for the first time and the traditional side locks are formed — also was accompanied by a Suedat Hoda’ah, or meal of thanksgiving to offer thanks to God after recovering from an illness.

    Avremel said while every boy’s Upsherin is a milestone in their path to adulthood, Mendel’s had an added appreciation in the wake of his surgeries.

    “He is able to be on his own and running around like nothing happened a month prior,” he said.

    Mendel gives absolutely no hint to the hardships he has overcome, he is a typical 3-year-old who enjoys playing with his siblings, coloring and going to the park.

    And if you ask Mendel how he has been feeling since his surgeries, he will most likely give a quiet, shy answer while flashing a big smile.

    “Better,” he said, grinning.


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    6 Comments
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    stamm
    stamm
    12 years ago

    Good News for a change. Hashem please give us more! A Kiddush Hashem obviously by the Blesofsky family and friends.

    Thanks to the medical staff.May you always be successful!

    12 years ago

    Having said Tehillim for this child & getting ongoing updates (his aunt is a friend of mine) this is mamash a neis. Baruch Hashem. Continued good health for Menachem Mendel HaKohen ben Chaya.

    bookman
    bookman
    12 years ago

    Go Blesofskys from strength to strength! What a nice article, well written and so meaningful.

    SherryTheNoahide
    SherryTheNoahide
    12 years ago

    Beautiful & heartwarming story!

    (:-D

    Butterfly
    Butterfly
    12 years ago

    A beautiful story!! Good medical staff!! May Hashem bless the midwife!!

    FredE
    FredE
    12 years ago

    My family has the privilege to know first hand the Chesed of this couple. May HaShem pay them back many times over for all that they do.