Viktor Bialik, MD
1942 - 2017
Viktor was born in a small town in Slovakia in 1942, during World War II, to a dentist father and his wife. In light of the situation at the time, they were forced to wander and hide. Viktor applied for medical studies and eventually completed them successfully under hard conditions. In 1968, following the Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia, he immigrated to Israel and settled in Haifa. Shortly thereafter, he enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces, where he practiced orthopedics. Later, he became interested in pediatric orthopedics.
Despite the difficulties of the Hebrew language and the fact that he never learned English in an orderly manner, Viktor managed to move forward on the academic ladder. His desire to develop as a pediatric orthopedist led him to fellowships in Denmark and later England.
In 1990, he became director of the Pediatric Orthopedics Unit at Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, Israel. In 1995, he was awarded the rank of Clinical Associate Professor at the Faculty of Medicine of Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, also in Haifa.
Viktor was a reviewer for many professional journals and a member of several professional societies, such as EPOS and POSNA. In addition, he was an honorary member of several pediatric orthopaedic societies.
In recognition of his professional work in the field of diagnosis and treatment of hip problems in newborns, he received the maximus emeritus award from the European Society for Pediatric Orthopedics.
On a personal level, Viktor met his wife Sara shortly after immigrating to Israel. Soon they were married and in 1970 their only child was born, a son who is a pediatric orthopaedic surgeon too.
Viktor always said that the climax of his life was the birth of his first granddaughter Aya, in whom he invested all his energy until the birth of another two grandchildren, Tal and Itamar, and then he divided his love for all three.
Unfortunately, about four and a half years ago, he was diagnosed with a malignant tumor. Just before his death, Viktor requested a modest funeral with only his parents' names written on his tombstone, without titles or other superlatives He died peacefully with his family at his side.
Viktor touched many people during his life and was loved by many.
