Miracle child celebrates bar mitzvah

MONTREAL — David Bregman’s survival after being born prematurely at 25 weeks weighing just 740 grams (1.63 pounds) was received as a miracle by his parents.

He spent more than three months in neonatal intensive care at the Jewish General Hospital (JGH), and left for home weighing 2.35 kilos (a little over five pounds).

David became the poster child for the JGH’s $50-million capital campaign, pictured asleep contentedly in the arms of a nurse.

That was 15 years ago. There have been many challenges for David and his parents, Orit Jacobovitz and Howard Bregman, in that time.

He has had health and other physical concerns to deal with, and was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome.

He attended United Talmud Torahs’ Shorashim program for children with mild developmental delays, and is now at Summit School for youngsters with special needs.

This month, at 15, David celebrated his bar mitzvah, a rite of passage his parents thought he would never achieve. They were given little encouragement that it was possible.

The rabbis his parents approached gave them “the runaround” when they asked about his having a bar mitzvah at their synagogue, or just never called back. continue...