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'Miracle Child' Has Rite Stuff

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By SHERRI ACKERMAN, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 15, 2008

Updated: 01/15/2008 12:14 am

TAMPA - Or Ben Said stood anxiously beside his father inside Temple David, a blue and white prayer shawl draped around his slight shoulders, a black leather box bound upon his head.

On this day, the 13-year-old boy born in Israel would officially become a man in Tampa.

And his family would breathe a sigh of relief at witnessing a rite of passage they feared might never happen.

Seven months ago, Or fainted and hit his head at school. The Plant City sixth-grader was rushed to the hospital, where doctors made a grim discovery. Or had high blood pressure, which signaled a problem with his kidneys.

Or was born with a faulty kidney, but it seemed his good one was failing and his health was deteriorating rapidly.

Two months later, he endured nine hours of a difficult surgery at Tampa General Hospital, where doctors from LifeLink, an organ and tissue recovery organization, repaired his good kidney and reconstructed the arteries that allowed blood to flow freely.

Without the operation, Or likely would have faced getting in line for a kidney transplant, a much riskier option.

But LifeLink surgical director Victor Bowers was able to save the boy's organ by removing it, flushing it with a special fluid and placing it back into Or's body.

Because the kidney was his own instead of a transplant, Or didn't need any supplemental medications to keep his body from rejecting the tissue, Bowers said. It also meant his prognosis is "very good."

But while the operation was a success, a backup in his intestines left Or unable to eat for more than a month. As Or's weight dropped, his parents worried whether he would survive.

Or is no ordinary boy, though, boasts his rabbi, Lazer Rivkin. "He is a miracle child."

Or regained his strength while preparing for his bar mitzvah, a ceremony that took place last week and marks a boy's entry into manhood on his 13th birthday. The event usually requires months of preparation as participants work to master Hebrew so they can read the sacred Torah aloud.

Or, having lived in Beersheva until two years ago, already spoke Hebrew. He was ready to read the Beshalach, a portion of the Torah that emphasizes trusting in God, in just two weeks.

And now he would wear the tefillin, sent by his grandfather in Israel, every day. Or will wrap the little black boxes with leather straps around his head and left arm each morning while saying the Shema - the daily prayers. The boxes hold the holy scrolls and signify the connection of the mind, heart and action.

Or's father, Yaniv, watched with pride as his son completed his bar mitzvah. Everyone tossed candy at the boy, who started stuffing the treats into his pockets.

"It's very emotional," Yaniv said after the ceremony while sitting at a long table topped with hallah and kosher foods. His wife, Kristian, and members of two other synagogues - Young Israel of Tampa and Bais Menachem Chabab at the University of Tampa - attended the service.

Or ate nonstop as he fidgeted next to his best friend, 12-year-old Kade Greene, who has taken Or to his Sunday service at the Plant City Church of God. Both boys are in the seventh grade at Marshall Middle School, where they are members of FFA.

Although his parents, doctor and rabbi know what a blessing it was that Or had his bar mitzvah on schedule, Or's perspective was decidedly more teenagerish. The best part of the day for him?

"The food," he said enthusiastically between bites, making up for lost time.

Photographer Cliff McBride contributed to this story. Reporter Sherri Ackerman can be reached at sackerman@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7144.

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