Yitzchak Meir

7-Nov-2010 Funeral of Yitzchak Meir Seltzer	Funeral of Yitzchak Meir Seltzer from Lev Seltzer on Vimeo.
April 4, 2000	Yitzchak Meir has been out of Lichtenstaeder Hospital for a few weeks. He has been staying with a family in Neve Yaakov, and we are looking to put him in an institution. He interviewed for Alyn yesterday, but they felt that their services were not appropriate for him. They recommended Aleh instead, and we will now be investigating that.
March 2, 2000	Yitzchak Meir’s condition has improved somewhat. The Lichtenstaeder medical staff no longer need to provide him with any medical care – just normal feeding and diaper changing. In fact, they have hinted that he is ready to be sent home! � So we are now going through the procedures necessary to a move Yitzchak Meir to his next home (which might be right here with his ima and aba). This includes going to the Insurance company (Meuchedet) and having them perform a formal medical review, culminating in a recommendation on his future care.
January 18, 2000A poem by Ella Seltzer	Oh Lord, when will it beThat the other side Of your tapestry We shall finally see?Our tears like heavy rains fall That in floods gather up When will they overflow the brim Of your wondrous cup? The lonely still searching For their zivug, their mate The childless beseeching for offspring Before Nature dictates it’s too late, In grief and in agony our mourners wail Young widows, bereft mothers When will Hope prevail? Emunah, our answer, salvation and hope Our crutch, our consolation With this we shall cope It is all for the Best, like a mantra we say Chuzku v’imzu, ’till the day comes And Hashem wipes our tears away. “Oh it wasn’t for naught!” we’ll sigh But this time in praise and in song When His tapestry is revealed to us That was Beautiful all along.
January 11, 2000	No news. Yitzchak Meir is still in the Reut Medical Center (Lichtenstadter) in Tel Aviv. His medical condition remains the same.
December 21A poem by Ella Seltzer	What answer should I giveWhen you ask me “How many children do you have?” Shall I say “Two” or “Three”? Well where is the third, your thoughts I tell “He’s in another place, he’s not very well A place where they look after kids like him” (who lie quietly with the buzz of machines For whom the the future is nothing but dim) But you don’t understand, “Is there hope?” you say Should we daven for him, I’ll get people to pray,” (Oh pray for us please, pray that with ease We’ll get through this hard time) With strength and with courage That this son of mine, shouldn’t suffer too long And that with each day we’ll become a little more strong.And each time that I tell The memories like a well Come back to me How, scarcely recovered from my labour pain I knew something wasn’t right, and saw my son remain quiet and still while the other babies cried “He’s in a coma…the brain..lack of oxygen inside…” I hoped for the best, but as the hope grew less I realised that this was my most terrible test A living nightmare when I woke up each day And wished that it all would just go away. A nightmare? You might find that believe As you see us and our children living our lives Laughing and playing but inside I am sometimes crying Each day that goes by as my baby is lying In a hospital bed that he might never leave. But he is my teacher, this child of mine Taught me that everything is led by the Hand Divine. That all we have is trust and faith in the Holy One Who brought down this special neshama as my son.
December 6	Yitzchak Meir has now been transferred to the Reut Medical Center (Lichtenstadter) in Tel Aviv. Ella travelled with him in the ambulance and checked him in. I followed behind in the car with Mordechai Eliyahu & Kayla Esther. The Medical Center is filled with children in similar conditions, so it is not the most pleasant experience.We still do not know what God has in store for us and our Yitzchak Meir. All we can do is hope and pray.
December 2	The kupat Cholim (insurance company) has approved payment for Yitzchak Meir to be sent to the Lichtenstadter Hospital in Tel Aviv. He could be transferred as early as Sunday, and we will be accompanying him there.Yitzchak Meir’s condition is otherwise unchanged.� This may sound repetetive, but he is in about the same condition as he was two weeks ago.
November 30	No major changes in Yitzchak Meir’s condition. Shaare Tzedek Hospital is ready to to release him. Our social worker is now in negotiations with the health insurance company to get them to pay for placing him in an insitution in Tel Aviv.
November 25	Dear Friends,Thank you all for your calls and enquiries and offers of help. Words cannot express our gratitude to you all – the moral support definitely helps us feel stronger during this difficult time. How we wish we could respond in turn with good news about our son! Unfortunately we have no good news (although on some level we know that everything is for the good). Yitzchak Meir is currently in Shaarei Tzedek recovering from pneumonia (a common ailment resulting from his neurological condition). During his first few days in the intensive care unit a CT scan was taken of his brain. It showed overwhelming damage, and was far, far worse than the first scan which was taken six weeks ago. Professor Steinberg, who is a top pediatric neurogist had himself never seen anything like it. It was not a result of the birth trauma, but of some preexisting condition either from before, during or after the birth. Whatever it is, whether it has a name or not, is now irrelevant. Professor Steinberg has said that our little boy does not have a long time to live – he can’t give us specifics as no doctor is a navi (prophet). We are doing our best to accept this gezera min hashamayim (decree from Heaven). For Ella it was far worse not to know what would be than having something definitive, albeit tragic. We regard it as a zchus (honour) to have brought down this most precious neshama into the world to do its tikkun. It is unlikely that our baby will come home again. We have no regrets about the short time he was home, however; that our family and friends got to see and hold our beautiful Yitchak Meir. People often ask us if we wish for them to daven for our son. In response, we ask that you should daven that our little son shouldn’t suffer, that we should have strength and fortitude and that Hashem should do what is for the best for all of us. In our pain we see our brochos; our little baby seems not to be suffering and we have wonderful volunteers who can be with him when we are not. In addition, we have the wholehearted support and concern of our family, friends and community. So many people have called us with unbelievable contacts and connections which have enabled us to get through this time with information and support. If not for Yitzchak Meir, there are some incredible people who I wouldn’t have got to know. We are sorry our story doesn’t have a ‘happy ending’. Or then again, maybe it does. We haven’t let this destroy us - we have grown a lot from our trial and we hope that it has changed us for the better. We have also learned how amazing people can be; those countless friends and friends of friends and even strangers who became friends, who have rooted for us when the chips were down. May we all merit to share only simchas and to see the geula shleima (redemption) speedily in our days. Lev and Ella
November 22	Yitzchak Meir’s continue continues to improve. He is in the pediatric ward of Shaare Tzedek Hospital, and girls from Darchei Bina and Michlala have been coming during the past week to watch him. I saw him yesterday, and he was looking quite good. He is getting a little extra oxygen, and food through a tube, but otherwise he is on his own. The nurses experimented with turning the heat lamp off yesterday, hoping that he would be able to maintain his temperature properly. There is now talk about his release from the hospital. it won’t happen today, but the nurses can see it coming soon. But we’ll take it one step at a time.
November 15	Yitchak Meir’s condition continues to improve. He is now in the Children’s room, and not in the Intensive Care. Unfortunately, Shaare Tzedek Hospital does not provide supervision for him, so we have been scrambling around to find volunteers to watch him 24 hours/day.We hope that his condition will continue to improve, as he is now classified as “DNR” which means “Do Not Resuscitate”. This designation was made after consulting with Rabbis and Doctors. It means that if his breathing deteriorates so much that he requires a respirator (again), he will not be given it. So if there was ever a doubt before of whether his condition was completely in God’s or not, there should be no doubt now.
November 11	Yitzchak Meir’s condition has improved over the past few days. The doctors have managed to take him off the respirator, and he is breathing again on his own. I am not sure if he is still considered to be in a coma or not, but I would assume so.So after spending the past few days realizing the possibility that I might have a funeral to attend, we are now faced with the possibility (once again) of Yitzchak Meir getting better and coming home. This possibility is actually quite frightening, because the last time he was here he apparently aspirated his food (something that neurologically damaged children can easily do) and contracted a pneumonia. If he comes home again, we fear that something will again go wrong and we’ll have to rush him to the hospital. We would be thrilled if God would give our child a complete recovery so that we could take him home. As long as he is alive, it is still possible. But I don’t wish this “not knowing” and “going from one extreme to another” on anyone!
November 8	We saw Yitzchak Meir at Shaare Tzedek Hospital today. It was very sad to see such a little baby hooked up to all these wires. His breathing was erratic, and his colour was very pale.I was reminded of the time I went with my father to see his mother in the Intensive Care of Brooklyn’s Downstate Medical Center. It was two days after my other grandmother had died, and now my father’s mother had had a stroke and was hooked up to slightly more machines and wires than my Yitzchak Meir. It was the only time in my life I have seen my father cry. And today, seeing my son in almost the same condition, was the first time that I cried, too. I tried to sing to him HaMalach HaGo-al, but the words just wouldn’t come out. We met with Dr. Kline, who explained the situation to us. The latest CT scan was very ominous, showing little to no differentiation between the various components of the brain. We were told to prepare ourselves for questions regarding Yitzchak Meir’s care in his final days in this world. The Gemora in Brachos says that one must continue to have hope for a salvation from Hashem, even if there is a sword at one’s throat. We continue to have hope of a salvation. Certainly God can save our child if that is what He wants. But even with perfect hope, we realize that God might have other plans for our Yitzchak Meir. So we are turning to our Rabbis for their guidance in this matter. For example, the doctors hope to get him off the respirator soon, and back to breathing on his own. But what if after a week he needs to go back on a respirator. Medically, this would indicate that his body is just not capable of breathing on its own anymore, which in normal circumstances would result in death. Do we instruct the doctors to put Yitzchak Meir back on the respirator, or leave him off? What if he can’t feed through a tube anymore? Do the doctors open his chest and stick a feeding tube into his stomach? What if he can’t breath through his mouth/nose anymore? Do they do a tracheotomy? Apparently Shaare Tzedek Hospital has a Rabbi on the premises that is expert on these matters. We were unable to contact him today due to the late hour of our call, but we hope to be in contact tomorrow. We thank you for all your support and prayers. At this point, though, we ask that you pray that God does what is “right and good” for the entire Seltzer family, rather than for a “complete recovery” for our son.
November 7, 9:50pm	Yitzchak Meir has slipped back into a coma.
November 7	Yitzchak Meir’s condition has deteriorated slightly. He is now on a respirator, as he is still having difficulty breathing.What can we say? We brought him home last week thinking it would be forever (or at least a good long time). Obviously, it isn’t. So instead of trying to predict the future, we will simply deal with each day as it comes. We will continue davening and hope that God will have rachmanus.� Your continued prayers for Yitzchak Meir ben Ella Yapha are appreciated now, as much as ever.
November 6	Yitzchak Meir was admitted to Shaare Tzedek Hospital on Shabbos. He has congestion in his chest which was preventing him from breathing properly. Upon admission, the doctors saw that his body temperature had dropped to 32°C/86.6°F, which is VERY cold. He is now in the intensive care unit. Your continued prayers for Yitzchak Meir ben Ella Yapha are appreciated.
November 2	New gallery created of Yitzchak Meir Seltzer photographs & Videos here
October 30	Here is the first picture of Yitzchak Meir Seltzer on the Web. He came home on Friday and spent his first Shabbos with his family. It actually wasn’t too bad. He is a good baby, and like all babies, sleeps most of the time. When he is awake, he is alert, and his eyes seem to follow a light source. Though then again, most babies don’t see much, or focus very well for their first 6 weeks.
October 26	Dear Friends,Four weeks ago today our son, Yitzchak Meir, was born. After being in a coma and on a respirator, and given little chance of progressing from there, we were able to enter him into the covenant of Abraham Our Father when we had his Bris Milah today. Two weeks ago, the doctors felt that there was no hope. The chances for recovery were almost nil. He would most likely remain in a coma and receive his food through a tube for the rest of his life. It was at this point that we consulted our Rav and asked him if we should continue to ask the public to pray for him. While we would continue to pray to God to do what was right for us, we felt peculiar asking others to daven for a “refuah shelayma” – at least given our son’s condition. Our Rav agreed. However, after we said Tehillim (psalms) at the Grave of Rachel the Matriarch on her Yahrzeit, we arrived at the hospital to find that Yitzchak Meir was taking a bottle and was out of his coma. He was now in a “stupor,” a medical condition that is less severe than a coma. During the following days, his condition continued to improve. Today he is alert and is no longer even in a “stupor”. We heard him cry during his bris milah – something we have never heard him do before. Our hope is still guarded, as all the scans continue to show damage to the brain. But we are thankful to God for the recovery our son has had so far. We will continue to pray to God that our son, Yitzchak Meir ben Ella Yapha, should have a complete recovery. We have always appreciated your help and your prayers, and will continue to appreciate any prayers that you say on our son’s behalf in the future. Our plans are to bring Yitzchak Meir home from the hospital during the next few days. We know we have a long unpredictable path ahead of us, but then life itself is unpredictable. We will just try to give our son the best start we can, and leave the rest up to God.
October 25	Ella fed Yitzchak Meir a bottle for the first time today. His eyes are opened, and seem to react to the light, which is an excellent sign. bris milah We hope to have a bris milah for him IY”H on Tuesday, October 26, at 9:30am in the synagogue of Misgav Ledach Hospital. There will not be a seuda (just some cake), and it will be a relatively small affair.
October 24	Thanks for your continued interest.� Yitzchak Meir has been transferred from the Intensive Care to the standard New Baby Ward. Even though the neurologists said that he would never take a bottle, he began feeding from one on Thursday. He is back on a feeding tube, though, because it takes about 45 minutes to properly feed him with a bottle. There is still extensive damage to the brain, and all medical books would say that one could expect a severely handicapped or retarded child based on this.We are still pondering whether to place him in a foster home, an institution, or to bring him home. This decision has been complicated by Yitzchak Meir’s recent improvements.
October 19	Dear Friends: We would both like to express our deep gratitude to all of you for everything you have done for us. We have been overwhelmed by the calls, the offers of help, the prepared meals, the organised tehillim readings and in general the outpouring of chessed brought about by this trying nisayon (test). For those of you who called or wrote but didn’t get to speak to either of us personally, we have received your messages and your calls of concern are VERY much appreciated. It helps to know that we have such a huge network of support in Ramat Beit Shemesh, Yerushalayim and around the globe.As for news of our Yitzchak Meir, we wish it could be encouraging but unfortunately it isn’t. According to the neurologists and neonatologists at both Shaare Tzedek Hospital and Misgav Ledach Hospital, he has suffered extensive brain damage. His future is therefore uncertain, but not very promising. The doctors even feel that there is a high probability that he will remain in his current state for the rest of his life.God has some purpose for our precious little neshama, but it is apparently not what we originally had in mind. After consultations with Rabbis, we would like to ask that you no longer include special prayers for a recovery for Yitzchak Meir ben Ella Yapha. As his parents, we will continue to pray for God to do what is good and right for us and for our Yitzchak Meir. We hope to have a Bris Milah for him once the doctors approve (which they said could happen sometime this week), but we will most likely have a quiet ceremony. We are trying to deal with this new reality the best we can. This is truly a great test of our emunah and bitachon (faith & trust). We have been taught that nothing in life can be taken for granted and everything God gives us is a gift. We also know that we are only given what God knows we can deal with, so we will have to tap into all our reserves of strength for the coming days and weeks – perhaps even years. Thank God, we have three beautiful children, two of them “bli ayn hora” healthy and well, along with countless other blessings in our life. This, too, is a source of nechama (consolation) to us. We thank you again for all of your support and help during these past three weeks. May we all merit to share only simchas together in the future.
October 17	No major change in Yitzchak Meir’s condition, though we have noticed a few more minor changes. He yawned, and he spat up on Ella. EEG scans are scheduled for October 18 (tomorrow) at Shaarei Tzedek hospital.
October 16	No change since October 12.
October 12	Yitzchak Meir is still breathing on his own, but with extra oxygen. The doctors still call his condition a “coma”, but we were quite amazed by his behaviour today. Ella was able to pick up and cuddle Yitzchak Meir for the first time, ever. She also gave him a bath. Amazingly, he opened up his eyes, and moved parts of his body. Not quite as much as a normal baby, but much more so than he ever did before. The doctors’ opinion of the situation is unchanged, though, and we are still davening for a complete recovery. We ask that you continue to also daven for Yitzchak Meir ben Ella Yapha.
October 10	Yitzchak Meir is now breathing on his own without any help from a respirator. His vital signs (heart, blood pressure) continue to be good, indicating that his body is very strong. He is also feeding through a tube directly to his stomach (and we heard him make noises — burps — for the first time). We are still hopeful, even though he remains in a coma.
October 6	Yitzchak Meir is back at Misgav Ledach.� His condition is, unfortunately, not improving. The doctors are not sure of his future condition, or even if he will survive in the short term. All that is left is asking God to have compassion on Yitzchak Meir and the entire Seltzer family.
October 5, 8:00pm	Yitzchak Meir went to Shaare Tzedek hospital for EEG and CT scans. Doctors are not pleased with the results. We attempted to check him in, but balked when we heard that insurance would not cover the admission.
October 4, 8:00 am	Baby has been named Yitzchak Meir ben Lev haLevi. Yitzchak Meir Silverstein was his 2nd great-grandfather, and was a religious Jew. We hope in the merit of this name that he will come out of his coma and will have a refuah Shelaymah.
October 2, 11:00pm	Baby is off the respirator. All vital signs are good. Drugged with phenol barbital (an anti-convulsant), so not able to tell if dulled reactions are still due to birth trauma, drugs, or other problems. CAT scan scheduled on Monday.
Sept. 31	Shalom Zachor held in the Seltzer Residence for the new baby. Prayers and good wishes are offered.
Sept. 30	50 women attend a psalm/tehillim session in Ramat Beit Shemesh to pray for the baby.
September 28, 5:35pm	Baby is born. Weighs 4.2kg/9.25 lbs. Due to a traumatic birth (3.5 hours of pushing) the baby is not breathing on its own and is immediately brought to the ICU (intensive care unit) and put on a respirator.

bris milah

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