"I Told the Doctors: 'My Son Will Live,' and They Looked at Me with Pity"

"We went through a tough journey until we finally got to hold Elia, our firstborn son," says Ariela Sabag while sharing the story of their son Elia, a story full of miracles and wonders. "After such a long wait, we didn’t even get to see him after birth because Elia was born at week 24 and needed ventilation, feeding through veins, and very intensive care from the moment he arrived into the world."

When Ariela talks about it, she herself finds it hard to believe what they went through. "We got to see real miracles because no one in the medical team believed that Elia would survive and grow into a healthy, smart, and developed child. But here it is, miracles happen in the world, and that's exactly why I'm sharing my story, so people know that sometimes the unbelievable happens, and you just need to have faith in Hashem and trust."

The Fight to Survive

"Elia was born about four and a half months before the due date," says Ariela, "and the first time we met him was the day after birth. I arrived at the NICU in a wheelchair because I had a very difficult recovery, and there I asked the nurses: 'How is he?' They took us to the incubator where we first saw him—a tiny baby weighing 650 grams. They quickly made his condition clear: 'He is very small, his lungs have not developed yet, not even his eyes have opened.' They prepared us for the fact that his chances to survive were slim."

And what do you go through as parents when you hear such grim predictions?

"Maybe it’s strange, but from the first moment I saw Elia, I just didn’t believe something terrible might happen. Even when I was told clearly: 'There are not many babies born in week 24 who survive,' I felt like I was falling apart, but I held onto hope and Hashem. I found myself standing in the center of the circle, with all the staff around me, and I told them with complete confidence: 'My son will live, because only Hashem decides that.' They looked at me with pity as my husband and I left the department. At that time, we heard beeping from Elia's bed, but we did not know it was related to him, so we continued to walk out."

Ariela notes that afterward one of the doctors asked them: "Did you hear what happened to your son?" When they replied no, he said that just as they left the NICU, the baby ‘self-extubated’—pulled the ventilator tube out—and they barely managed to reconnect it. The doctor explained that with such a tiny baby, they try very hard not to touch his head in the first few days, as the blood vessels are thin and weak and could cause a brain hemorrhage and irreversible damage, and here they had to touch his head repeatedly to reconnect the tube. The action caused bleeding, but luckily it absorbed within a short time, and our Elia kept growing and fighting."

Ariela mentions that during all this time they had no family who could support them. "My parents live in France, and my husband's parents are in the country, but at that time COVID-19 was at its peak, and they couldn’t come. But Hashem blessed us with the best messengers inside the hospital—Prof. Arnon Samuilov who accompanied this complex pregnancy, Dr. Netanel Wasertil, a neonatology expert who treated Elia with tremendous dedication and simply saved him several times, Prof. Eli Picker, head of the pediatric pulmonary department, and of course, the devoted NICU team who really were our family during those days. To our great joy, we have a dear cousin, Naomi Sabag, an ultrasound technician at Shaare Zedek, who was there for us all the time."

"We found ourselves visiting the NICU daily and being there with just ourselves and Elia, trying to sing to him, give him as much warm touch as possible, and of course pray for him. Simply ask that he survive and grow, despite the grim expectations."

A Spark of Hope

The bleeding was absorbed, but soon other challenges arrived. "When Elia weighed 700 grams, it was noticed that he had a perforation—a hole in the intestine," his mother says. "This is common in preemies, but when they weigh more than a kilo it's common to take them to surgery to close the hole. In our case, since Elia was so small, surgery was not possible, and the only option was to put a drain for 48 critical hours. We experienced, of course, immense stress, and as his condition began to stabilize, the doctors explained that when he reaches a kilogram, they would operate on him." Ariela pauses for a moment and notes that they experienced a real miracle: "When Elia reached a kilogram, they performed an ultrasound and found that everything had sorted out on its own, and there was no need for surgery."

The miracles continued and accompanied them all the way, even when Elia needed an injection in his eyes, due to an issue with undeveloped blood vessels in the area. "The injection helped, but we were prepared for the fact that it was not certain he would see, and the optimistic prediction was that he would need glasses as a baby. I cried a lot, but after we were discharged from the NICU, we checked the eye where he received the injection and found that the blood vessels had redeveloped, and its condition was good. However, we were told that in the other eye he would also need an injection, and we entered the nightmare again of wondering—will he see, and how will his vision be affected. Thank Hashem, after a month we saw that everything sorted out. The final seal of approval for the treatment came when Elia was two and a half years old, and we did all the necessary eye tests with a professional optometrist. It turned out everything was fine, and we were told he didn’t need glasses, and if he did, it would be much later, just like any other child."

The release from the hospital after four and a half months was exciting and joyful, but also quite daunting. "We were discharged with oxygen and lots of instructions and guidelines," Ariela recalls. "We were very apprehensive about transitioning to home, and to our great happiness, we met at that time Dr. Yotam Almagor from Meuhedet Health Fund—an exceptional messenger who accompanied us through the whole initial hospital-to-home transition period. He is responsible for a unique program by Meuhedet Health Fund that accompanies babies in complex situations after discharge. He was with us and advised us all the time. Over time he became part of the family, and he is simply an angel. We couldn’t have asked for a better doctor. Thanks to him, the transition to home was smoother and more effective."

In a conversation with Dr. Almagor, he notes that it is indeed a very unique program that has been running for the past four years under the supervision of Dr. Menachem Beitan, the district doctor of Meuhedet. "As part of the program, I accompanied sweet Elia, and I continue to accompany other children in complex situations until they settle into the community. This work is very satisfying and active. I feel it's a great mission to help parents in such situations."

Ariela recounts that during the first years after discharge, Elia was at home with her, as she preferred to keep him away from the contagious diseases that spread in educational settings, and invested all her time in him. At the age of two, they put him in a regular daycare, from where he continued to a regular municipal kindergarten. "He is a friendly and happy child, smart and talented, and there’s not a day we don’t thank for the miracles that happened to him which are so unnatural."

Ariela also notes that last year they returned to Shaare Zedek Hospital, this time to give birth to their second son who was born on time. "We took the opportunity to meet the doctors in the NICU again, and when they saw Elia, they had tears in their eyes, and they told us, 'When we see him, we know why we get up in the morning and work.' They also occasionally send us parents of preemies who were born at very early stages, and we always try to support, encourage, and advise, because we understand how important it is in such situations and also believe that open miracles happen. Elia is the proof."