Ganit Tzaner has “come full circle,” she said Sunday, after becoming a mother. Ganit, who herself was born dangerously premature 28 years ago, gave birth this week to her firstborn child, a girl. The baby was born in Carmel Hospital, the same hospital where Ganit was born in July 1982.
Dr. Ron Alexander, who delivered Ganit in an emergency surgery, delivered Ganit's daughter as well. At Ganit's birth he was a young doctor just beginning his career; today he heads the Lady Davis Medical Center unit.
Ganit was born weighing 500 grams (1.1 pounds). “The treatment we give premature babies today is nothing like what it was 28 years ago,” Dr. Alexander recalled. “Back then, a 500-gram baby was likely to die.” Ganit spent three months in the hospital before she was ready for release.
Her baby was born full term, weighing a healthy 3.2 kilograms.
Ganit's mother, Bilha, was greeted warmly by veteran staffers at Carmel. Nurse Shula Shamir, who cared for Bilha and Ganit in 1982, greeted Bilha with a hug. Despite the many years that have passed, she remembers all the mothers and babies she has cared for, Shula explained.
"We're going to call the new baby Liyan,” Ganit said excitedly. “We hope she will have a happy life... I'm sure that someday Liyan, too, will come give birth in Carmel. We have good fortune here.”