She Survived Brain Surgery While Pregnant: A Mother’s Fight for Life

Life can change in a single moment. For Nira Hershler, that moment came just days before her son’s bar mitzvah, when a sudden pain in her eye led doctors to discover a dangerous tumor.

What followed was a journey of fear, faith, surgery, recovery, and what she calls a second chance at life.

A Diagnosis Days Before the Bar Mitzvah

Nira Hershler, now 49, remembers waking up one night with severe pain in her left eye. By morning, the pain had become impossible to ignore.

Her doctor noticed something concerning and immediately sent her for an urgent CT scan.

“I asked if it could wait until after my son’s bar mitzvah,” she recalls. “The doctor said we could not even wait until tomorrow.”

Two days before the celebration, the results came back. Doctors found a benign tumor, about the size of a ping pong ball, pressing on the optic nerve behind her left eye.

Despite the frightening news and the growing pain, she continued preparing for her son’s special day.

A Complicated Pregnancy

Soon after, another surprise changed everything. Nira discovered she was pregnant.

Because pregnancy can accelerate growth in certain conditions, doctors became increasingly concerned as the tumor continued to expand. By the seventh month, surgery could no longer be delayed.

Doctors prepared her for a complex operation expected to last around nine hours. There were serious concerns not only for her life, but for the baby’s life as well.

At one point, doctors debated delivering the baby early before surgery. But because the baby was still extremely small, they decided to proceed while continuing the pregnancy.

“Dad, Tell Me It’s Going to Be Okay”

On the morning of the surgery, Nira said goodbye to her six children and headed to the hospital with her mother.

She prayed intensely that morning, pouring out her heart during Shacharit.

Just before entering surgery, the pressure became overwhelming.

“My mother suggested I call my father,” she says. “As soon as he answered, I broke down crying and begged him, ‘Dad, help me and tell me it’s going to be okay.’”

Fighting for Her Life

The surgery lasted many hours and was considered successful. But the real danger came afterward.

As the anesthesia began to wear off in recovery, Nira suddenly started choking after a severe coughing fit and lost consciousness.

Doctors and nurses rushed into the room.

For nearly 50 minutes, the medical team worked to revive her.

Later, one doctor told her mother, “You received your daughter as a gift. She had already gone above, and we brought her back.”

Miraculously, the pregnancy continued safely.

“A Child of Miracles”

Two months later, after a difficult delivery and emergency C section, Nira gave birth to a healthy baby boy.

She and her husband named him Shmuel David.

“Baruch Hashem, he was born healthy and whole,” she says. “I call him a child of miracles.”

Despite everything she had endured, the baby developed normally and grew into what she describes as a bright and thoughtful child.

A Long Road to Recovery

Recovery was far from easy.

Nira was healing from brain surgery while simultaneously caring for a newborn and raising six other children.

Then, eight months later, another challenge appeared. Doctors discovered that a small remaining part of the tumor had begun growing again.

She underwent a series of radiation treatments that left her weak and exhausted. During that difficult period, she says organizations and volunteers helped carry her through.

Today, she still undergoes regular monitoring and continues dealing with ongoing health struggles.

Choosing Gratitude

Alongside her medical challenges, Nira’s family also faced financial hardship, including bankruptcy and the loss of their home.

Still, she chooses to focus on what she does have.

“I may not have money,” she says, “but I have a home, a bed, hot water, and clean clothes. That is what keeps me going. Faith and looking at the half full glass.”

She admits there are difficult days when she cries or struggles to get out of bed. But she continues trying to move forward with hope.

“Hashem Gave Me Another Chance”

Nearly losing her life changed her perspective completely.

“Hashem gave me another chance,” she says quietly. “He did not have to, but He did.”

When life becomes difficult, she remembers that moment and tries to hold on to gratitude instead of despair.

She also draws strength from others who transformed suffering into purpose, especially people who found light despite enormous challenges.

For Nira Hershler, survival became more than a miracle. It became a mission to keep choosing life, faith, and hope every single day.