First Night of Channukah

Tonight is the first night of Channukah. Which of course leads to the traditional question, why is this night different from all other nights?

For starters Peri has been in the hospital since last Tuesday. I am completely emotionally drained from the twisting drive to and from the hospital while trying to keep some sense of normalcy at home. Today I had to give myself a break and stay home.

It was also our little boy's first ever Channukah. Through the power of FaceTime we were able to have the whole family together for candle lighting. Channah, me and the dogs were at home, while Peri and Blobby joined in from the hospital.

Afterwards Channah and I watched some Channukah music videos while we ate dinner. We had lasagna that was prepared ahead of time for when Peri was going to be in the hospital. We also had latkes that Channah made with her friend this afternoon.

We found this year's batch of videos to be disappointing compared to other years.  Of course this one still remains my all time favourite.




Blobby received medical clearance to come home this afternoon. Peri's status is still uncertain. There is a possibility that she could be sent home tomorrow. They may want to keep her a little bit longer.

The events surrounding the pregnancy and my son's birth has given me an entirely new dimension to understanding and appreciating the lessons of Channukah. If his Bris is over Channukah I will share them then. If not I will write about them in the next few days.

When the Doctor Recommend Going Against Medical Advice

Yesterday all the tests were fine and the baby was doing well. The doctor said he wanted to keep her overnight and discharge her in the morning. When asked for a medical reason to justify his decision he was open and honest. The staff that handle the discharge papers leave at 15:00 and Rachel needed to have the 2nd steroid shot to help the baby's lung development at 16:20. Rachel explained that staying at the hospital was a non starter for a number of reasons. It would mean missing a medical appointment close to home with someone who is only available once a week. There would be no helpful medical care provided. Due to the lack of rooms, Rachel had been stuck in the post postpartum ward with all the crying babies. This also meant any medical care that she was supposed to receive while she was there was taking 10 times as long. The level of systemic medical care was embarrassingly poor. .

After hearing these arguments the doctor agreed that the healthier option for both Rachel and the baby was to be home. He recommended that Rachel sign out of the hospital "AMA" (Against Medical Advice). He told us what paperwork needed to be done and was ready in order to make sure the Kupah would still pay for the visit.

Last month, Bikor Cholim hospital was turned down by the government for extra funding to keep the hospital running. There was a real threat that it would finally be closed down. The hospital has been on financial life support for quite some time. This brought up all the arguments for keeping it open. There was criticism of the possibility of shutting down the hospital located in the heart of downtown, only a few blocks away from some of the worst terrorist attacks during the 2nd Antifada. They mainly serve the local Charedi population who would have a difficult time getting to the 3 hospitals on the outskirts of the city, especially on Shabbat.

After seeing it first hand, it reminded me of the arguments made to keep Branson Hospital open in Toronto. As a kid, it was the closest hospital to where I lived. In every single document for medical permission my parents had to sign for school or camp etc..., they noted not to send me to Branson. Despite their reputation for horrible medical care, people argued that it was close by for people who would have trouble getting to the other hospitals, especially in the Jewish community. Eventually it was closed down and the premises taken over by another hospital. Bikor Cholim is in a prime location for a top level hospital to serve the community. After 160 some odd years, it is about time that they get one.

Another Doctors Appointment Another Trip to J-Town

This morning Rachel and I went to the doctor for one of her regular appointments at the OB. The doctor decided herself on something they were not able to get on the last ultra sound. The baby wasn't moving to her satisfaction. So I ran to buy an orange juice to try to wake the baby up. It didn't help, so the doctor told us to go to Haddasah Har Hatzofim to get an ultra sound with better equipment, as a precaution. We had to hurry as it was almost noon and we the technicians go home at 2:30. We went home quickly packed a travel bag and were on the 417 to the hospital. Arrangements were made for Channah to go to fiends after school.

We have had the route planned out for a while of getting off at Bar Illan and taking a bus from their. The only notification was to take a taxi instead. As we hit Jerusalem traffic we asked the driver if it was better to get off immeditaly and catch a cab, then wait out the traffic. He said we should have told him earlier because he would have suggested getting off at one of the first bus stops. Taxis don't go to Bar Illan because they know everyone is taking the bus. He then proceeded to try to flag down a taxi. At one point to save time he drove on a sidewalk (which had people walking on it) to get around a car that was blocking traffic. Eventually he told us to where to get off, to have the best chance of catching a taxi.

We get to the hospital and we completly lost as to where to go. The room marked Ultrasound was actually the office for checking in. Then I had to go downstairs to register Rachel while they began the exam. They found everything to be normal but the baby was not moving to their satisfaction. We then go to the entry area for Labour and Delivery. It was pure chaos as the doctors are dealing with multiple patients and we have not clue what is going on. Eventually they have a huddle of about 8 medical personal to decide what to do. As their is no space in the NICU, just in case we need it, she would be transferred to Bikor Cholim. In response to Rachel's pleas to go home they point out that it is so serious they are sending us by ambulance. About 15 minutes later they asked us if we had a car or if we needed the ambulance.

After more chaos and monitoring the give Rachel the Steriod shot (to help the babies lungs) and send on our way to try to figure out where the ambulance is. To stress the seriousness of the situation Rachel must go by wheelchair and someone would be waiting for us at the hospital.

We find the ambulance, which was more of a Hassaah then anything else. When we get near the hospital we get dropped off by the side of the road and get vague instructions on where to go next. Nobody was expecting us and we had to go through the full registration. Once signed in Rachel goes for monitoring.

After a few minutes of monitoring, I am told to leave the area because it wasn't tznius because woman also needed monitoring. I use the time to call some of our friends to let them know what is going on. One friend calls to say that she is about to get on the bus to come help us out at the hospital. As soon, as I hang up the phone the baby starts kicking. The friend arrives and I am once again thrown out of the room for a much longer period of time. This time the friend is able to keep me updated.

The end result is Rachel is staying in the hospital overnight in order to get the second shot of the steroid. They will also be doing monitoring during the day to make sure everything is all right. We are hoping that she comes home tomorrow or at least in the next couple of days. Channah as her Misibat Chumash on Thursday and we both want to be there.