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34 Detroit Jewish News
another former patient, said with
"My patients have taught me a
emotion. He made a difference. He
lot," he added, "and I will miss
convinced me there was hope even
them."
after the death of my stillborn baby
Michaels, a New York native, is
and the death of my baby who died
considered one of metro Detroit's
of SIDS at 10 weeks of age.
deans of maternal-fetal medicine. A
"If we didn't have Dr. Michaels,"
pre-med student at the University•of
she continued, we wouldn't have
Michigan, he received his medical
tried with Michelle and I can't tell
degree from Northwestern
you how much of a difference hav-
University.
ing my daughter has made to our
Over the course of his career,
lives."
Michaels served as chief of perina-
Patient and staff alike lauded
tology at Providence Hospital in
Michaels' unfaltering energy and
Southfield. The medical profession
concern when it came to the well-
recognized him as a leader in the use
being of an unborn child or a
of sonography or ultrasound in man-
patient who had suffered a loss.
aging "incompetent cervixes." He
He was legendary for spending
pioneered a process using ultrasound
six out of seven nights a week at the
to detect changes in the cervix that
hospital, roaming the halls, checking
can predict and prepare for cases of
on his patients and delivering
premature labor.
babies," said Faye Schreiber,
Michaels' skills helped bring
Michaels' former
babies to women
research assistant.
who had experi-
For former
enced stillbirths,
patient Mary
multiple miscar-
Leshner, the doc-
riages, congeni-
tor's untiring atten-
tal birth defects,
tion to each of his
in-uterine com-
patients touched
plications and
her personally when
infertility.
her 21-month-old
But for all his
toddler died in his
clinical success-
sleep and she
es, including
learned. later that
some 4,000
— Dr. William H. Michaels
she could never
births, the hum-
conceive again.
ble, soft-spoken
"I hit rock bot-
doctor modestly
tom," said Leshner,
points to his fre-
"but Dr. Michaels was always there.
quent interaction with patients as
He never gave up on me.
the most important factor in his suc-
"He came to the funeral, he gave
cess.
me his home phone number, he
"I was convinced that you could
would call and talk until midnight,
give individualized care and provide
and talk about going on with life at
the frequency of care that was
a time I didn't want to," she added.
required to have better outcomes,"
"He helped me realize how lucky
said Michaels. "I chose to see
I was to experience Mark's first
patients frequently," he said.
smile, his first tooth, his first walk.
"Generally, I saw them weekly,
And he reminded me that some
sometimes two or three times a
women he treats do not have even
week. I would listen to them, and if
those memories to savor."
I heard any type of subtle difference
Leshner's husband, Shel, spoke for
in what they said, or what I noticed
the fathers, noting that Michaels was
medically, it would make a differ-
ence in how I would manage a
not just a friend and counselor to
his women patients, but a doctor
patient."
who gave hope to families.
"Dr. Michaels knew a phone call
alone would not calm me," reflected
For patients who disparaged over
difficult pregnancies and experi-
one of his former patients, Linda
enced loss, Michaels said he would
Stulberg.
always encourage them to "continue
Following the loss of a baby girl
to use their inherent hope and inner
who was stillborn at term, she lived
strength." He called it "simply amaz-
in fear of carrying a child again for
ing the courage these people have.
40 weeks, only to deliver a lifeless
They show the human spirit wants
baby.
to go on and try to become whole
"Dr. Michaels sensed my hyste-
ria," Stulberg said. "He encouraged
again.
"My patients
taught me a lot
and I will miss
them.
me to take advantage of his open-
door policy. Everyday, I made the
pilgrimage to his office to hear my
baby's heartbeat."
Ironically, it was this same prac-
tice of encouraging frequent patient
visits that led Michaels, at 55, to
give up the practice he cultivated
over more than two decades.
"I found I could no longer con-
tinue to give the kind of care I
thought was necessary in this new
managed-care environment," said
Michaels. "These days, doctors have
to see a large number of patients to
survive and pay their bills.
"I didn't want to short-change any
of my patients, I couldn't stay in
practice that way."
Michaels says his commitment to
serve his patients developed when he
was in his 30s and was diagnosed r/
with metastatic cancer.
"If it weren't for a decision by a
physician to go to bat for me and
encourage me to use an experimental
treatment," Michaels says, "I proba-
bly would not be alive today.
"I learned from that doctor the
importance of being an advocate for
your patients."
And as a teen in Buffalo, N.Y.,
after a gang of anti-Semitic hood-
lums burned down his synagogue
and defamed his own home with
swastikas, Michaels learned the
importance of treating each patient
with kindness. "I never could under-
stand how people could look at
other people with the same human
,,/
needs and treat them so differently,"
said Michaels.
His commitment to each patient,
no matter what their background,
and to their struggle to conceive
healthy children, became a hallmark
of his practice.
"No matter what religion you are,
whatever your nationality or race, all
people celebrate life and grieve loss
the same," the doctor philosophized.
"Children are the most important
asset of any society, so investment in
prenatal care, investment in precon-
ception counseling and care during
delivery are imperatives in the future
of our families, our country and our
society."
While he won't be in practice any
longer, Michaels says he will contin- L\
ue to be a sounding board for his
former patients who need an ear or a
friend.
As he makes plans for his future,
Michaels says writing a book is one
project he's always had in mind. TI