Hardi's Heart Surgery
Monday,
February 4, 2008 The Last Day in JordanFiled
by Jean
and I met Hardi and Aras with their mothers at 5 o’clock in the
morning at our flat for the families in Amman. They were prepared to leave for their
flights back home and so we didn’t waste time and drove to
the airport because the flight was planned for 7
o’clock. When we finally got on the highway, we
were forced to stop because the roads were too icy to drive on. There
was a lot of traffic on the streets outside of Amman and
that’s why we stopped on the side of the road and used the
time to watch the sun rising and melting the ice.
We arrived at the airport at
8:20 and we were so happy that they delayed the flight until 9
o’clock. They only had to hurry up a bit but they got their
flight back home. They were very thankful and although we
couldn’t communicate much with words, they understood what we
wanted to say to them.
----------------------------------------- This concludes the story of Hardi's journey to Israel for heart surgery and a new life.
Click here if you'd like to help give the same opportunity to another child.
Thursday,
January 31, 2008
Hardi Leaves Israel
Filed
by
But
I had to hurry "and make tracks" as at 11am, three boys were anxiously
waiting to go home to Iraq after being in Israel for heart surgeries.
As
I pulled up to the Shevet house, Hardi, Aras, and Dilshad dashed
through the newly fallen snow with unrestraint. Once we were
all
piled in the van, our  destination was the Al Aqsa mosque where each
family spent some time in prayer. As they were exiting the
Mosque
area, they were so excited and chattering amongst themselves, they
walked right by without even noticing me! Once again, we all
got in
the van to head back to Shevet for final packing to head for the
Jordanian border. But simple packing wasn't on their minds;
they had to
sit and have some lunch (aromas of chicken and rice filled the air),
and say a final goodbye to the other families staying there.
Finally
by about 3:30 pm we were headed to Beit She'an, Aras and Hardi taking
up the front seats with me. They quickly found the snack bag I
packed
for them, and soon chips, nuts, and drinks were being passed around.
All except the cashews, that is; Hardi decided that he should
be the
keeper of the bag. As we were driving out of snowy Jerusalem
and into
the plains headed toward the Jordan valley, more of God's handiwork
appeared in the sky--two spectacular rainbows.
Upon
reaching the border, we were informed that on the Jordanian side, the
road was closed due to snow in Amman. Now what? Phone
calls were made
to Dirk, our Shevet teammate in Jordan, and he had to make the long
trip around which would take an additional two hours. So while
our
little group waited, we decided to eat again and went to buy some
falafel sandwiches.
The last
leg of this journey quickly
came to an end, as I got them processed through security and soon
loaded their luggage onto the bus that would take them into
Jordan. This goodbye was bittersweet. God has given
me a love for these
young men and their families. Through all the travels back and forth
from Wolfson to Jerusalem, and visiting them while in the hospital,
I've become quite attached to them. But it was a precious time
for me
to be able to send them on their way home and pray that God's spirit
goes with them. As the bus pulled away I felt a little piece of my
heart go cold, and not because of the snow or blustery, damp, cold
wind. It is that they have become in some odd and strange sort of
way... family. And I'm not sure whether I will ever see them again. I
can hear the Father say, "Heaven will not be complete until all nations
have entered in." Yes, these are the sons of Abraham! Click
to send an e-mail
message to Hardi and his mother. Notify
me when Hardi's page is updated
at this
email:
 Thursday,
January 24, 2008
"OK" to Return Home to Iraq
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Today was Hardi's last echocardiogram.
He and his mother were very excited to see if they would have the final
O.K. to return home.
After he received his O.K. to return home, he wanted me to take a
picture of him beside the horse outside the children's ward at the
hospital.
He was so excited to know that soon he will be returning
home. Please continue to keep him and his mother in your
prayers. They are both very anxious to get back home and see
their
family.
Click
to send an e-mail
message to Hardi and his mother. Notify
me when Hardi's page is updated
at this
email:
Sunday,
January 20, 2008
Banjo Lesson
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As
of Thursday night, Hardi and his mother have been staying at the Shevet
house in Jerusalem. Yesterday Hardi, his mother, and the two other
Iraqi families all went to church with us. They seemed to
enjoy
it, and had positive feedback about the day.
Brent
Nichols, an international online school teacher, played a banjo in the
service that morning. Afterwards, Hardi picked up the banjo;
after Brent saw this, he went over and began showing Hardi how to play
it.
Brent writes, "Despite the language barrier, nothing
brings on a temporary smile like a banjo. His smile lasted through his
first lesson, but by the time he was playing solo, I think he was ready
to be done with that bright, obnoxious bluegrass sound and get back
home to familiar music."
Hardi has one more echocardiogram next Thursday, and then his time with
us here in Israel will come to a close.
Click
to send an e-mail
message to Hardi and his mother. Notify
me when Hardi's page is updated
at this
email:
Thursday,
January 10, 2008
Dismissed from the Hospital
Today
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Hardi's
day changed from napping to leaving the hospital in the brief visit I
had with him and his mother this afternoon. He awoke as his mother and
I talked, and it was great to see his smile again. He got up and walked
around a bit after a visit from Baveel, and then we heard from Dr.
Alona that he would be dismissed to the Save A Child's Heart house
today.
According
to Mustafa's mother, Hardi's mom wasn't too sure that was a good idea -
that it was too soon for him to leave the hospital. But they prepared
to leave. And at the same time we were leaving to take Juliana
home with us, and a mother and child to Gaza, they were leaving in a
Save A Child's Heart taxi. Since Diyar
had just been visiting them after his echo, I am thinking Hardi will be
happy to hang out with him at the Save A Child's Heart house.
Hardi's
mother seemed very relaxed and thankful today as I visited with her.
She has a sweet and gentle disposition, and I believe that through the
healing of Hardi's heart problem, she will experience a new opportunity
for healing in her own heart. It is my prayer that our God will turn
her mourning into joy as she completes the grieving over her daughter's
death some years ago, and rejoices in the life God has given to her
son. Let us pray together that everything God has in mind for their
lives will be realized at this time.
Click
to send an e-mail
message to Hardi and his mother. Notify
me when Hardi's page is updated
at this
email:
 Sunday,
January 6, 2008
Hardi's Surgery: Excellent
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When Hardi and his mother
first arrived
in the ward on Saturday, all the other mothers were praying.
They had their mats on the floor and were silently praying the
last prayers of the Muslim day. After doing a ceremonial
wash, Hardi's mother found her prayer mat in her luggage and joined
them. The other mothers in the room were Palestinian so would not
be able to talk to Hardi's mother, because she speaks Kurdish and not
Arabic.
But they asked about Hardi and what kind of surgery he was having.
There was a lot of sympathy expressed for him and his mother.
Hardi
was then taken to have a couple of procedures done prior to his surgery
today. One of them was rather uncomfortable, but he was very cheerful
afterwards. In fact he couldn't wait to visit his friend Aras.
So as soon as he had his bed allocated, he went along to the ward
where Aras is now recovering from his surgery.
Today
was an emotion-filled day
for Diyka
Hardi. Her son was taken for surgery around eleven-thirty this morning,
since he was the second surgery of the day. She had been told and
assured that his surgery was an easy one, but like all mothers, she
was very worried about her son. The estimated time of the surgery was
four to five hours, and after about four hours, one of the pediatric
cardiologists (not one of the surgeons in the OR) passed us in the
hall, prompting Hardi's mother to ask about how Hardi was doing. We
were
told he would be out in about one hour, and that everything was going
very well. We waited for about half an hour and walked down the hall to
the place with the best vantage point for seeing the patients returning
from surgery. When the remaining half hour passed, she noted it on her
watch to me. I replied that maybe another half hour and we'd see
Hardi.... but it  was another hour before he came up.
She saw him, and
began to cry a little, which is a typical reaction. But the further
down the hall we walked, the harder she cried. I told her what the
nurse wheeling him upstairs had just told me - that his surgery was
very good. Still she cried harder. She got a good look at him just
before they took him into the ICU, and at that point everyone has to
wait for the child to be attached to the monitors, oxygen, and
medications needed. When the door closed, and I motioned her to come
and sit down outside the ICU entrance, she began to cry even more.
Eventually Rachel from Save A Child's Heart, who'd been with her when
Hardi went into surgery and sat with us at the end of the afternoon,
helped me move her to a seat. The other Kurdish mothers, who'd come to
the hospital with me from Jerusalem to have a check up for sniffles and
sore throats, heard her crying and came to us. As all of tried to
console her, one of the mothers was able to understand between her sobs
that she had lost a daughter, Hardi's sister, to a shooting by a
terrorist years ago. She was crying because she didn't want to lose
Hardi too. This was explained to all of us, and at this point, she
sobbed uncontrollably. Each of us expressed our sorrow with her, but
told her that Hardi's surgery was excellent, thank God. She was
unconsolable.
I was just about to go into the ICU
and ask if she could
see for herself that Hardi was ok, when Dr. Sasson, the surgeon, and
Dr. Houri, head of the ICU, walked out together. They were quite
surprised at what they saw, and began to explain that the surgery went
very well, but she just cried on. I explained to them what we had just
learned, and that all of the emotions were apparently still bottled up
inside and were coming out now. They said that the best thing
for her would be to see her child, and allowed her to go in and see for
herself that Hardi was ok. Even though the nursing personnel was not
finished with what needed to be done, Dr. Houri told them to allow her
to see her son for a few minutes.
Once outside
the ICU, I explained to our special friend Mustafa's mom what was
happening. I knew these two would be together in the ICU tonight, and
if
these tears were still present, maybe she could settle her. I hoped she
could help her understand that Hardi didn't need to hear her crying.
Mustafa's mother went to Hardi's mother and began talking to her, and
at
last, Hardi's mother began to calm down. All of us were thankful that
her heart was being comforted. At that time, we had to make our
departure back to Jerusalem.
Hardi was
sedated and resting in the ICU as we left. His heart surgery was
excellent, and he is expected to be extubated tomorrow, and begin to
wake up. Please pray for his healing to come forth speedily.
His
mother's heart is still grieving the shooting of her 15-year-old
daughter which happened years ago, and the evidence of the healing she
needs was present this evening. Please pray that the Lord Himself will
comfort her; so that just as she keeps a bedside vigil for her son, we
will remain vigilant in prayer for her. May we ask the God of all
comfort to heal her heart even as she watches Him heal Hardi's heart.
Click
to send an e-mail
message to Hardi and his mother. Notify
me when Hardi's page is updated
at this
email:
Saturday,
January 5, 2008
Surgery Tomorrow
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Hardi
was invited to be admitted to the hospital today, for surgery Sunday
morning. His turn came quickly because his surgery will be a simple one
which Dr. Tamir can fit into his schedule now.
Please
pray for
Hardi. He was sitting at the dining room table and put his head down
and started to cry when he got the news. I had one of the other mothers
explain that his was an easy surgery, so this is why he is going first.
He seemed better then.
Click
to send an e-mail
message to Hardi and his mother. Notify
me when Hardi's page is updated
at this
email:
Wednesday,
January 2, 2008
Large Hole Will Be Easy To
Repair
Filed
by
Hardi
had a difficult time waiting so long for his turn, but was a model
patient on the table. He was very interested in seeing the images of
his heart as they showed on the screen - and his mother was equally
amazed that she was actually seeing the workings inside her son's
heart. She was thankful for the good news about the ease of his repair
when Diyka Mustafa gave her the translation, and so are we. We'll let
you know when Hardi's surgery is scheduled, but in the meantime, please
pray for him and his mother while they wait.
Click
to send an e-mail
message to Hardi and his mother. Notify
me when Hardi's page is updated
at this
email:
 Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Preliminary Testing
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Hardi
was very brave today as he underwent the battery of preliminary tests
needed before he can undergo his coming surgery. He set a good example
for the younger children, and after his turn, was ready to find some
activity during the long wait for all to have their turns. One of the
opportunities he had today to fill his time was talking with Aras as Aras
waited for his surgery in the morning. These boys are the same age, and
seemed to enjoy each other's company.
The
heart problem Hardi has does not keep him from being active, and
several times during the day either I or his mother had to slow him
down in the crowded  hospital
halls. Once he knew the layout of the children's ward, he was ever
ready to go wandering, and the coke machine was one of his favorite
destinations. At first he was too excited to respond to our instruction
to "stay put", but by the end of the day, he realized it was important
to show others how well he could represent the people of Iraq in this
place.
After our
trip to the hospital
tomorrow to get Hardi's echo, we hope to know more about the timing of
his surgery. He is already asking, undoubtedly thinking of how it will
feel to be in Aras' shoes - one day away from surgery. Please pray for
him and his mother while they wait for Hardi's turn for his operation.
Click
to send an e-mail
message to Hardi and his mother. Notify
me when Hardi's page is updated
at this
email:
Monday,
December 31, 2007
Hardi and Friends Reach
Israel as
Year Turns
Filed
by
 After
a very long day of riding and waiting, these dear children and their
mothers arrived in Israel at about 8:30 this evening. I was able to
meet them in the Jordan terminal and ride back into Israel with them to
ease the crossing process. When we entered the Israeli terminal, a long
passport control session was necessary for all 9 of us, and we happily
exited into the main terminal about an hour later. We posed for a group
picture before climbing into our waiting "chariot" to go to Jerusalem;
you can see between Alex and I, from L to R, Hardi, Arya, Baveel, and
Juliana, and their moms. Please pray for all of them to get a good
night's rest. We will leave early in the morning for their first visit
to the hospital for initial check-ups. Pray as well for each family as
they enter this season of intensity in their lives while they have
their hopes realized, even while their fears peak, when their
respective children undergo surgery. We will entrust each one to God
for His care to be evident throughout the process.
Click
to send an e-mail
message to Hardi and his mother. Notify
me when Hardi's page is updated
at this
email:
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