Ali's Heart Surgery

Tuesday
August 7, 2007
A Heart Healed; A Bridge Built
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Today I had the pleasure of taking Ali and his mother to the border. She volunteered that the people of Israel have shown her love she had not seen in her communities back in Iraq. As she spoke this I could see in my rear view mirror that her son still clung tightly to silver mylar balloons that he had been given on his birthday here. Though the balloons were deflated from days of use, Ali held them just as if he had received them minutes ago.

After an easy navigation of the Israeli border we began waiting for the bus that would take them on a four-minute ride to Jordan. When the bus pulled up, Ali turned to his mother and asked if they could go back to Tel Aviv on it. His mother looked at me and remarked that Ali was already missing the Israelis.

I walked them to the bus and watched her son, full of energy, pace impatiently as he anticipated the next leg of their journey. Another Shevet worker will be picking them up on the other side.

With this new heart and new hope they will be flying to Iraq tomorrow morning to speak of Ali's healing, the bridges built while in Israel, and the balloons given to him by the people he has come to love.

Thursday
July 26, 2007
Ali Left the Hospital Today
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Ali is fever-free and is spending Thursday night at the SACH house in Azur, which is a suburb of Tel Aviv. Um Ali had all of their gifts and luggage in her hands, ready for their grand exit, as I entered the children's ward today.

Ali and his mom will spend some time in the SACH house until Ali can have his last echo and be released to head home to Iraq.

Praise God for Ali's quick healing!

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Tuesday
July 24, 2007
Pouring into Others
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Ali was intrigued by the pictures of himself that I gave his mom today. He stared at his post-op photo for quite a while, and his mom relayed what must have been going through his mind saying, "That's not me, is it?!" Both Ali and Um Ali were light-hearted today and freely enjoying their visitors and roommates in the children's ward. Ali had fun playing with playdough and his new bear, brought by Shevet staff member, Simantov.

The generosity continued today as Um Ali gave our Jerusalem director Alex a beautiful floral arrangement of red and white flowers. Usually the patients and their families are the ones getting the flowers and not giving, but I think this really encapsulates the stage that Um Ali is at in her experience with her son's road to recovery. She is joyful and wants to pour into others now.

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Sunday
July 22, 2007
Rapid Recovery
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Ali's recovery continues to move along quite rapidly the past few days. Over the weekend, Ali moved into the children's ward at Wolfson Medical Center. I arrived this afternoon to find mother and son both sleeping on his hospital bed. Praise God for this boy's quick healing and his ability to get some much needed rest, despite loud, energetic roommates!

Meanwhile, Ali's brother continues to battle typhoid fever in Iraq. Um Ali seems very thankful that Ali is now in the part of the hospital from which he will be discharged. Though we can't converse very well, I gathered that she is grateful to think she'll be able to take Ali back to Iraq so they can reunite with the rest of their family as soon as it's medically advisable.

Um Ali has been fasting for over a week now. A lot of the mothers will refrain from eating or drinking on the day of surgery, but this is a rare situation, from my limited experience. Please pray that she herself has enough strength.

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Wednesday
July 18, 2007
Ali is a Fighter
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Ali is progressing extremely well in the first 24 hours post-op! Today, when we went to visit him in the ICU, we found him extubated and breathing in an oxygen mask. This made not only us, but also his mother smile with great delight.
Um Ali rejoiced with Um Hussein, who left for Jordan today, as they said goodbye in the waiting room at Wolfson. Both of these mothers had a lot to be happy about. "Ham-dah-lah", meaning, "Thanks be to God" was uttered numerous times during their brief conversation.

Tomorrow, when we return to the hospital, we hope to get more of a technical update on what happened during Ali's surgery. Keep posted, especially if you are interested in the details of what was corrected in Ali's heart.

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Tuesday
July 17, 2007
Tears of Relief
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Ali is resting in the ICU Tuesday evening after coming through his heart operation that was completed at 3:00 pm today. The doctor came out to the waiting room to reassure Um Ali that her son had made it through and that she would be able to see him soon.

This was a very emotional day for Um Ali, who shed many tears. Undoubtedly, some were of anxiousness, yet others were of relief when she saw her son being wheeled into the pediatric ICU after his 5-hour surgery. The half hour that the mothers have to wait while their kids have their chest x-rays in the ICU and finish getting situated, is a grueling 30 minutes. Many empathetic mothers came by to encourage Um Ali, knowing exactly how she felt. They were talking with her about what to expect when she went in to see her son. This appeared to brace her well as she entered the ICU. After kisses and more tears, Um Ali sat down to read the Koran over her son.

Initially Ali's recovery appears to be going well, which we praise the Lord for! This a critical period for this little boy, so please continue to lift him and his mom up in your prayers.

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Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Ali Comes Through Surgery Successfully
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Ali has made it through his open-heart surgery today in Holon, Israel, and is now recovering in the ICU. Details and photos will follow shortly.

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Monday, July 16, 2007
Surgery Tomorrow

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To Um Ali's great relief, her son will be getting his operation tomorrow (Tuesday, 17 July), as early as 7:30 a.m. We found Um Ali reading and praying, while Ali was fast asleep.

With all the chatter going on around him as the mothers updated us on who's going for what operation when, Ali soon woke up but he seemed to be in a daze!

Ali cried when Um Hussein carried little Hussein to say "Good-bye" as Hussein was discharged from Wolfson today.

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Tuesday
July 10, 2007
Surgery Postponed Until Next Week

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Ali continues to wait with his mom for his invitation from Wolfson for heart surgery. Still placed as high priority on the surgeon's schedule, he is tentatively slated for a spot in the operating room next week now.

This news was not received well by Um Ali, whose other son, Muhammad, is fighting typhoid fever back in Iraq. Ali's 8 year-old brother has been sick the past week, his mother says. My heart sank to hear of this mother's anguish...both of her sons need her at this time. We prayed with her, that the Lord would give her strength and peace. When we finished she was crying but gave thanks for the prayers. That is all we can do at this point. But thankfully we cling to the Rock that is higher than us, knowing there's nothing better we could do than bring Ali and Muhammad before God.

Despite trying times, Ali had a smile on his face, once he warmed up to his visitors. He enjoyed snapping some shots of his friend Arkan and the rest of us. Upon our departure he gave me a big high five and we left this smiling boy and sweet mother in hopes of our next visit being one of answered prayer of improved health!

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Tuesday
July 3, 2007
Surgery Scheduled For Next Week

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Ali's long-awaited surgery is now scheduled for next week.

Ali is pictured here with his mother. The girl behind them is one of the many children who come from all over the world for heart surgeries through Save A Child's Heart, just like Ali.

After his regular nap this afternoon, Ali was playing happily like a regular kid in the courtyard of the house.

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Thursday
June 28, 2007
Warming Up

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Ali and his mother were in the waiting room at Wolfson, just following his check-up appointment today. This sweet little boy is still awaiting his surgery and today his mother was inquisitive as to why his name hasn’t been called yet for the operation. Ali seems to be warming up a little bit more to the hospital environment and new faces. This exposure at the hospital will probably help him feel more comfortable during his post-op experience.

Ali, who looks very much like his mom, has two brothers at home. Back in Iraq, his eight-year-old brother is sick. Um Ali is wanting things to move forward, hoping to reunite their family as soon as possible.

Your prayers for perseverance and peace are much appreciated!

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Wednesday
June 20, 2007
Staying Close to Mom

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Today I went with Alex and Stephan to visit the children in the Save A Child's Heart house.

Our main reason for visiting was to tell the mothers about the SACH house rules. Ali's mother speaks Arabic well and she helped us to translate to the other mothers who only understand Kurdish.

When I saw Ali I remembered him immediately from Jordan. When we were there last December for the cardiac screening, and the doctors wanted to do an echocardiogram, Ali was screaming and didn't let them come near him. During my visit today, Ali was very quiet and didn't leave his mother even for a second. He was eating Bamba (a snack like cheese puffs, but peanut-butter flavored).

Ali's mother told me that she is looking forward to Ali's surgery.

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Sunday
June 17, 2007
Shy Ali

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When we walked into the hospital today, Ali was the first person we saw. He was in the ICU waiting room with his Mom, still being quite shy and not wanting his picture taken. Ali is in need of our prayer as he is still very much afraid of anyone who looks like they would want to examine him. Otherwise he was looking quite good physically. Ali and Um Ali are currently staying at the Save A Child's Heart house while Ali undergoes tests.

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Grace Right From the Beginning
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When Ali and Hussein arrived at the Jordan River crossing into Israel today, they had Orit as their personal escort. Orit is the Border Manager on the Israeli side and a really nice lady. She had me drive the van right up to the door of the building so that the mothers would not have to walk too far with their children in the hot sun. It was God's grace and kindness at work right from the beginning.

When we arrived at the hospital Ali was not at all familiar with the surroundings so it took a while before he would allow the nurse to even take his blood pressure. But the staff doctor came in and immediately blew up a surgical glove (pictured above) and drew a face on it for Ali. As trust began to grow the testing began.

As the evening turned to night it was decided that both the new children required an echocardiogram and equipment was being moved in order to do just that. After the echo Ali was headed to his new (temporary) home near the hospital to spend his first night at the Save a Child's Heart house.