continued from page 14
16 | OCTOBER 31 • 2019
received a bachelor’
s of science
degree at U-M in 1962. She
then enrolled in the master’
s
program in geology at Wayne
State University.
“My husband pushed me to
think about medical school,
”
she said. Following his advice,
she received her medical degree
from Wayne in 1967.
“I went into surgery because I
work with my hands,
” she said.
“Surgery was an unusual choice
for a woman at that time, and it
seemed to me that people might
better accept a woman in pedi-
atric surgery.
”
Adelman was one of the very
first female surgeons to set up
offices in Metro Detroit, one at
Children’
s Hospital and another
in Dearborn. It was in 1974
that she met the Hakim family,
whose cousin needed an opera-
tion to treat internal cysts.
“His treatment was lengthy,
”
Adelman said. During that
time, she met Norma Hakim,
her young patient’
s aunt, who
helped interpret the family’
s
Chaldean language for Adelman
so she could understand their
questions and concerns. She
was also the beneficiary of
Norma’
s wonderful cooking.
Since the time of this surgery,
Adelman and her husband have
remained close friends with the
Hakims, taking part in their
family celebrations or just shar-
ing a meal.
TELLING NORMA’
S STORY
And it is Norma’
s story that
figures into Adelman’
s writing
After Saturday Comes Sunday, a
reference to the Sabbaths of the
two religions, Saturday for Jews
and Sunday for Christians. It
also references the fact that
first the Jews were exiled from
Iraq due to persecution. More
recently, Christians have been
forced to leave Iraq or be exter-
minated, following the rise of
the Islamic State of Iraq and
Syria (ISIS) in 2014. In more
sinister terms, it refers to first
the Jews being wiped out due
to their religion. Now, it’
s the
Christians’
turn to face termi-
nation, as Adelman explains.
Norma Hakim, who
turned 94 this month, came
to America in 1937 from the
town of Telkaif in Northern
Iraq. She was almost 12 and
was married to a man who was
then 25, Karim Hakim. She
was raised by Karim’
s mother,
who taught her how to clean
house, follow the Hakim family
recipes and to cook for almost
50 people a day. Norma first
became pregnant at age 14 and
went on to have eight children.
Adelman has considered
Norma a mother figure for
herself for the 40-some years
she’
s known the Hakim family.
And it is because of this famil-
TOP LEFT: Adelman at work
in her home art studio.
TOP RIGHT AND ABOVE:
Adelman’
s art studio with
her varied styles and
subjects.
Jews in the D