Diyar's Heart Surgery

Sunday, January 13, 2008
Diyar Leaves Israel
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After several weeks of follow-up echos for Diyar, Hussein and Delir, they were dismissed from Wolfson and the Save A Child's Heart house today to begin their joyful return to their homes and families. Each of these three boys came over as urgent or emergency cases, and are going home with new hope for a life and a future. Not only does this show on their faces, but it also shows on the faces of their grateful mothers. Really, everything about their lives has changed with this opportunity to come to Israel for the heart surgery they needed. Today was a celebration of the relationships made along the way, the encouragement from completed cases to arriving patients, the emotion of saying goodbye to friends made while sharing a very unique journey during which they all shared a bond of understanding others could never know.

The return to Iraq began with saying goodbye at the Save A Child's Heart house. Although the picture may look chaotic, the reality on the ground was that all of the women wanted to say goodbye to these three mothers and children who had reached the goal - well enough to go home at last! Hugs and tears were everywhere among us.

From the Save A Child's Heart house, we went to the hospital to say goodbye there. Hussein and Mustafa and their mothers had been together since the screening in Amman in early October, and had become very good friends. I watched as the

y parted, Hussein's mother both comforting and encouraging Mustafa's mother - this dear woman who had been so full of fear before, now nearly aglow with confidence in Mustafa's success after his second surgery. It was a sweet scene to me to see one able to help the other in time of need. And these women do this so beautifully.... the previously vulnerable ones becoming the strong encouragers.

Next we drove to Jerusalem so the families could see the Temple Mount and Garden Tomb. We shared some lunch, and though just a few weeks ago we were able to to in the afternoon, today were too late to catch the window of time when the area is open to all faiths, so we walked through the Western Wall plaza to the gate nearby where our guests could go and pray to thank God for their child's health.

Afterwards we drove to the Garden Tomb only to find it closed because it is Sunday.

I realized as we set out on that walk that Diyar had been walking all this time and keeping a pretty good pace... Praise God! When he arrived in Israel he could not walk across the room without needing oxygen! Having accomplished our purpose for passing by Jerusalem, we left for the Jordan border.

God faithfully answered our prayers about the timing of our arrival on this very full day. Three of our Shevet efforts were converging at the Israeli-Jordan border early this evening, and it was my prayer that no one would have to wait for a long time for any of the others. With God's help, our van of departing patients arrived at the same time Dirk brought three new families from the Jordan side to enter Israel for their surgeries. Since two of the new patients (Bestoon and Diar) were going to Haifa, we had another van there to drive those families to their new host homes. We brought Rebar and his mother here to Jerusalem, and Dirk took the three families going back home to Amman to await their flights. Security in the Israeli terminal allowed us to work through the slight wait we had while the new patients finished clearing customs on the "Arrivals" side of the terminal. This allowed the new families to meet the ones departing with new hearts - what an encouraging way to begin their stay in Israel!

As we walked Hussein, Diyar and Delir and their mothers to the bus which would take them with Dirk over to Jordan, there were many thanks to God and to us as representative of Shevet Achim for helping them come. They said to thank the doctors and the Save A Child's Heart house staff. They are different women now, having experienced a new land and culture, endured the trial of their child's surgery and recuperation, and grown as they've persevered and encouraged each other to do the same. Your prayers have helped carry them through every step! Please continue to pray that they will understand that the God of love has been there as well, for each and every one of them.

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Thursday, January 10, 2008
Final Echocardiogram Today
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Diyar had what is expected to be his final echo today, praise God! He was the first person I saw when I arrived at the hospital as he waited for the taxi to return him and his mother, along with Hussein and Dilshad and their mothers, to the Save A Child's Heart house.

We hope to be able to take Diyar, Diler and Hussein to the border on Sunday, going back home with new hearts and hopes. This young man is looking forward to that event, and so are we. Please keep praying for him as he leaves, that the love of God he's experienced will also do a work on his heart.

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Monday
December 24, 2007
Beating the Virus
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When I was at the hospital last week with Rayan before he returned home, I found out that Diyar was about to leave the hospital after he had been re-admitted for a respiratory virus which has been sweeping through all of Israel. He seemed to feel quite well as he strolled the hall while waiting for his dismissal papers. To see him moving about without signs of exertion like any movement required before the surgery is such a joy - and it shows on both his and his mother's faces.

The most recent report is that Diyar was having an echo done when I arrived at the hospital Monday. I saw his mother as I entered the children's ward, and she told me that he is doing very well. I went down the hall to visit Hussein, and by the time I left Hussein and his mother, Diyar and his mom had returned to the Save A Child's Heart house. We hope to find out in the next days how soon he might be released to go home to Iraq. Praise God!! This young man, who the doctors were not sure would be a good candidate for any surgery, will be going home with a new heart! Let us keep him and his mother in our prayers as his healing continues.

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Tuesday, December 18, 2007
A Living Miracle
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I visted with Diyar today at the Save A Child's Heart House. I was stunned by his initial appearance. Before me was a young man who was a shadow of his former self. Gone were the icy fingers, the lethargic motions and consistently pale skin. It was as if a photographer had given him a color boost. The picture above has no photographic manipulation but rather it represents a living miracle.

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Sunday
December 16, 2007
Awesome Progress
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Most of us don't even think about walking. We take it for granted as we move about from one place to another. But to Diyar, a 17-year-old Iraqi boy, walking five feet meant shortness of breath and total exhaustion. Just five short days ago, he underwent heart surgery and today when visiting him, Dr. Alona was amazed at such awesome progress. He was able to walk unassisted approximately 300 yards to the clinic for a post-op echo, without shortness of breath or fatigue. A picture of him walking down the hall says it best!

Dr. Alona said that normally it takes 2 1/2 - 3 weeks post-op to recover to this degree. Today Diyar will leave the hospital and spend the rest of his recovery time at the Save A Child's Heart house in Azur.

We want to thank you for your prayers and support on behalf of Diyar.

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Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Oxygen Levels at 98%
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Diyar is looking rosy! This is the first time I got to see him with such a healthy glow in spite of the fact that he was lying very still, probably because of the aching pain from his surgery wounds. He could barely smile but he followed me with his eyes when I 'spoke' to his mother (using gestures and simple Kurdish and Arabic words for "good" and "operation" respectively).

Diyar's mother lost no time in pulling back his sheet to show me the various contraptions attached to his

chest, indicating to me to take a photo of it so that his father in Iraq can see it on our website.

Diyar asked for water several times during the half hour I was in the ICU visiting him, as well as saying goodbye to the staff in the ICU. Arsen the male nurse 'fed' Diyar some water using a syringe. Later, when another patient was wheeled into the room and the nurses were all busy, I helped to give Diyar some water in the same manner and that was when I found out that he could only have 50ml at a time.

I'm so glad to see Diyar having had his operation and looking much better, with his oxygenation level now up to 98% without the use of any oxygen mask or tubes. I had brought him some photos taken on the day he first arrived at Wolfson and one of them showed him lying on the examination bed and the monitor nearby showed his oxygenation level to be only 81%.

His mother took Diyar's hand from under the sheet and showed me how pink his fingernails are now. Praise GOD for the healing that is taking place in Diyar's heart, and we pray that he and his family will get to know his ultimate Healer in a more personal way in time to come.

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Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Surprise Surgery Today!
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When I walked into the lobby of the children’s ICU at Wolfson Medical Center I found Diyar’s mother tapping her toes nervously. It came as a shock to all of us at Shevet that Diyar had been wheeled into surgery around 8:30 AM that very morning.

Diyar had a tetralogy of fallot. This is primarily characterized by a hole between the ventricles and many levels of obstruction from the right ventricle to the lungs (pulmonary stenosis). Though TOF is a correctible condition, Diyar’s age makes it very risky.

Diyar is one of the oldest children Shevet has sponsored for surgery. During his initial screening in Amman, the surgeons debated whether or not he was operable. By the grace of the Lord, through a daring and skilled surgical team, Diyar’s surgery was characterized as a success. He currently has a pacemaker but they hope that is temporary.

When Diyar’s mother saw him for the first time after surgery, she almost immediately touched his toes and fingers, noticing a pink complexion as compared to a life-long shade of blue.

Diyar’s mother spent the next few minutes holding my arm and rattling off a multitude of praises to God and thanks to us. On a sobering note, Diyar’s age will likely make his recovery quite long and not without risk.

As Diyar has been given this surprise surgery and wonderful new life, let us join the mother and thank our Lord.

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Sunday
December 9, 2007
A Good Candidate for Surgery
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When I last saw Diyar on Friday, he was not doing well, looked a little blue and had to have his oxygen mask on. But today, he actually looked rosey and gave me a great smile!

Both mother and son wanted to know when his operation can be scheduled. Since I could not get any affirmative answers from two doctors whom I met today, I could only tell them what the doctors usually say, "The time will come for him to have his turn." But I did add that the doctors' operation schedule often times get changed at the very last moment when an unscheduled child's condition suddenly deteriorates and needs an operation immediately. I used Diyar's playmate 2-year-old Delir as an example of one who was given priority over other children who had been earlier scheduled, and both Diyar and his mother nodded their heads and smiled with understanding.

I spent the rest of my visit with them expanding my miniscule Kurdish vocabulary and Diyar's mother was most enthusiastic in teaching me how to count beyond 10, right up to 20! I quickly dug out my self-compiled English-Hebrew-Arabic-Kurdish word-list and added the new words for the numbers. Then I tested out my pronunciation of a few Kurdish words on my list, and to my dismay, I was corrected with different pronunciations altogether! I gather from Diyar's mother's response to my apparent confusion that she was telling me there are several Iraqi dialects. They laughed when I told them that my head is small, using all three words for "small" that I've been taught: koort, beshook, and finally berjook!

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Thursday
December 6, 2007
Sitting Up
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When I visited Diyar today, he was sitting up and talking. He and his mother are anxious to hear the surgery results. We'll pass on the news to you too, as soon as we know.

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Wednesday
December 5, 2007
Drowsy After Catheterization
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I was surprised to find Diyar still in his hospital bed when I arrived today, since he was scheduled for a catheterization this morning. Because we were saying goodbye to Soz and her mother, I did not arrive at the hospital until after 11... but there was Diyar still in his room! When I asked the nurses if his cath was cancelled, they said no, but that the first child scheduled for the morning was taking an unusually long time in the cath lab. Both Diyar and his mother were anxiously waiting for his turn, but now understood the reason why he had not gone yet.

After visiting a little while, I went to the ICU to see Delir and his mother. When I found that I couldn't speak to the doctor there until he finished his rounds, I wanted to go back to see Diyar, but before I got to his room I saw the first child coming out of her catheterization. I knew that meant Diyar would have already been taken upstairs to have his turn. Next I decided to check on Rayan's progress when I saw him and his mother sitting in the "fish room" speaking with a doctor. After this was finished, I noticed that Aras and his mother had entered the room, and they told me that Diyar had just been wheeled past going back to his room. I seemed to miss his coming and going today!

Once in the room I found Diyar's thankful mother sitting by his bedside, and Diyar sleeping peacefully. He roused up when he heard my voice, and he said hello but immediately went back to sleep. His mother's first questions were about what the catheterization showed, and whether Diyar would be able to have another surgery. At the screening in Amman, the doctors made their decision to operate on Diyar on the basis of what the catheterization showed since it would reveal the extent of the problems, and the strategies for repairing them if it is possible. Therefore the news from them will be very important, and they are both anxious to find out their diagnosis. I went to the nurses with these questions, but they cannot tell us anything until after the medical staff meets tomorrow. Thursdays are the days the doctors discuss and update information about each child, and determine the surgery schedule for the coming week. We hope to know more tomorrow.

Please pray for Diyar and his mother while they wait. She remains very thankful for what is happening for her son, yet is very eager to know if he will be able to have the surgery he needs. Already God has brought him this far.... let us pray that the doctors are able to give Diyar's heart a full repair so he can go home healthy.

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Sunday
December 2, 2007
Reading Narnia in Arabic
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Today we took Aras and Dilshad from our house in Jerusalem to the hospital to have their preliminary examinations for determination of their readiness for surgery. This allowed us to visit first thing with Delir and Diyar who were together in the room nearest the ward's nurses' station. I had not seen them since Friday evening, and upon entering the room noticed that Diyar's skin tone seemed very blue today. He was his usual gentle self, and was spending his time playing a game on his mobile phone. I had promised to bring him a book to read before I left on Friday, and delivered him an Arabic copy of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe which had been donated to us for the patients. He thanked me and immediately began reading.

When I was with them on Friday, I captured a short video of Diyar's kind nature as he played with little Delir in the bed beside him. They had invented a unique new game - ''hospital soccer ''- which delighted Delir and was fun for the adults to watch too. Even though he cannot play much with them, all of the younger boys look up to him already and enjoy his time and attention. They watch his activity and hang around his bed when they get a chance. He is like a big brother to the other boys, and they like that.

After returning to Diyar's room following Dilshad's echo, I was surprised to learn that he was to be dismissed to the Save A Child's Heart house for two days and would return on Tuesday before a catheterization on Wednesday. His mother was very distraught over this development and asked me why they were doing this when he was so tired, and so sick... not doing well. I could tell she felt the decision was not best for her son, and followed up on her request to speak to the nurses. They told me he would be OK at the Save A Child's Heart house, and it is near the hospital if he had a problem. When I told her these things, she would not be settled, and insisted that I call one of the other mothers who speaks English as well as Kurdi, so we could be sure we didn't misunderstand each other. She said that Diyar himself knew he was not doing well, and did not want to leave the hospital. It was then I realized that he was now squatting in the bed rather than sitting, a sign that he needed more oxygen to his lungs. By the look of desperation on his mother's face, and the pleading in her words, I felt it important to pay attention. I went back to the nurses' station to speak to a doctor, explaining what I was perceiving. To me, it seemed that Diyar was fearing that he might die if he didn't stay near immediate medical care. His mother, who knows her son well, understood this, and was doing all she could to convey the seriousness of the situation. After talking for a few minutes, the doctor said that Diyar would stay in the hospital. Diyar had already dressed to leave, and his bed had been reassigned, so he had to be relocated to another room - the one next door. At this point, I was asked to accompany Dilshad upstairs to the echo clinic, so left as they were moving Diyar next door.

When I came back downstairs about two hours later, Diyar was being given oxygen and an IV. I learned from his

mother that he had gotten worse after I left, and they put him on oxygen, and found that he needed fluids as well. I am so thankful for his mother's persistence so that Diyar was in the hospital when this happened! He seemed very weak, and was resting. His little buddy Delir was in the chair beside him, and his mother said he misses Diyar as his roommate.

Before leaving them this afternoon, several of us prayed for Diyar there in his room. Please join us in fervent prayer for the life of this young man. I am thankful the doctors invited him and that he chose to come, as there was some hesitation about whether he would come at the beginning. I am thankful for his desire to live ... and the life that God has in mind for him as well.

Please pray that Diyar's body will strengthen as he rests before his catheterization on Wednesday. Pray for his mother who is so wonderfully perisitent on behalf of her son. Pray that the catheterization reveals the successful course of surgery for him so that his whole life is made new from this lifesaving experience.

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Thursday, November 29, 2007
Resting Tonight in Hospital in Israel
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I am thankful and happy to report that today all four of Iraqi boys and their mothers who came to Amman in the past two days crossed over into Israel. Although they are tired, they are glad to have successfully passed through the border. The crossings are particularly stressful for the families because they are entering this land they've heard so much about as an "enemy" of their people. And indeed, security is very strict at the crossing points, and seems to be getting tighter. Yet God has allowed us to establish working relationships with the officials at the border terminals which helps make these journeys easier for everyone. The officers and passport control workers on each side are as comforting as they can be to the families while still maintaining the necessary professionalism and protocol which is required to fulfill their posts. However, I've noticed that until we completely finish the process and are in the van on the way to the hospital there is a tension hanging in the air. Today was no different, and was even a little heightened due to a taxi breakdown on the way to the border. We needed two taxis to transport everyone, so I arranged for my driver and his brother to drive us, and was very encouraged when we left Amman on time, and made very good time through the mountains down to the Jordan valley. We were in fact only minutes from the entry point to the Sheik Hussein bridge when the taxi carrying Delir, Dilshad, their mothers and me came to a stop. Right away the two drivers looked at the problem and knew it could not be easily fixed, so they determined to take us one group at a time to the crossing point, which meant the other group had to stay with our broken taxi. This made the mothers nervous - understandably so - and yet I knew they would be safe with my drivers, whom I depend on around Amman regularly. I have trusted these men with my own luggage when I had to spend hours in the embassy in Amman, so I knew they were trustworthy with this much more precious cargo. They have driven several of our patients to the border, and enjoy helping us, and seeing the children come back healed. Even though it could have been quite a challenge, there was so much to be thankful for as the delay was probably only about a half hour.

The rest of the process in Jordan went smoothly, although there is no way to cross quickly with nine people, eight of whom are from Iraq! While we waited for the bus which crosses the river, we used our time for a quick picnic.

In the Israeli terminal we had another delay, and it was one I did not anticipate. Because Diyar is 17 years old, he was taken aside and questioned as an adult. This was a bit intimidating for this gentle young man and his mother, but they maintained a calm demeanor through it all. I, on the other hand, became very concerned when I saw that he was pulled aside. I knew it was probably standard procedure, but the "advocate" in me rose up, wanting to protect and help. I approached the security authority and asked them if there was a problem, and they assured me there was not. They explained to me that the protocol was changing and would affect how we needed to handle crossing from now on, and this was part of the reason for the questioning. It was not a tense or unpleasant discussion, and again I thank God for established relationships, and the proof of it shown in the many many stamps in my passport from making these treks with children. Everyone was satisfied after this talk, and Diyar actually seemed to want to observe these men more closely as they continued to work in the terminal while our processing was finished. When I saw that he really was none the worse for it, and his mother seemed fine too, I was relieved. We exited the terminal and headed out to the van where my colleague Hank was waiting for us. Even after these several delays, we made it to the hospital by mid-afternoon, in time for the children's initial examinations.

On our way to the hospital I called the cardiologist Dr. Tamir to see where he wanted us to go with the children when we arrived. We discussed the seriousness of Delir's case, and he was also concerned that Diyar might need to be admitted right away. He felt that Aras and Dilshad could wait at our center in Jerusalem until Sunday and come them for their initial exams. We arrived to waiting film crews, which is another overwhelming part of crossing days. These people are not used to publicity, nor do they seek it, yet they find themselves in front of the lenses of very big cameras at a time when they already feel quite anxious and vulnerable. We try to act like they are not there so that the families too will not feel stressed over it - even while they have a fear from recognition of their whereabouts in their volatile homeland should the wrong people see this information.

Diyar had an echo by cardiologist Dr. Tamir, and Dr. Katz did a second blood pulse oximeter and decided based on the results to admit him. It was the first time I saw Diyar really react to the situation beyond his polite and courageous attitude so far. I noticed his eyes fill with tears as they put the hospital bracelet on his arm. His mother's reaction was to give me a kiss of gratitude for the help for her son. Please pray for Diyar as he undergoes this life-saving and life-changing surgery.

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