|
|
Hindereen's Heart Surgery
Saturday,
August 22, 2009
Hindereen On His Way
Filed
by
Hindereen
and his grandmother flew out of the Amman airport today.
Hindereen has a clean bill of health and we trust his family
will rejoice when he is restored to them later tonight. Thank
God for his grace which has touched this household.
Thursday,
August 20, 2009
The Doctors give Hindereen
the Okay to Go Home!
Filed
by
Hindereen's
Grandmother was all smiles
as she carried him into
the hospital to see Dr. Tamir for his potentially last echocardiogram.
Hindereen remained complacent while waiting for his turn to see the
doctor, and
his grandmother enjoyed visiting with some of the other mothers. When
it was
Hindereen's turn to get his echo done, he began to crying and seemed to
be
afraid that his grandmother would leave him. She tried to sooth him,
but she ended
up taking him outside before his echo to get a little while later. The
results
of the echocardiogram came back excellent, and Hindereen will be
returning home
tomorrow! Please continue to pray for his health and development as
well as
continued strength for his grandmother.
Click
to
send an e-mail
message to Hindereen and his grandmother.
Notify
me when Hindereen's page is updated
at this
email:
Thursday,
August 13, 2009
Hindereen's Homegoing Draws
Near
Filed
by
Hindereen
went today for what is believed to be his second to last echo before he
can return home. While this is great news, his grandmother was hoping
that somehow this would be the very last echo in Israel. Hindereen was
oblivious to everything except his great fear of anyone who might be a
doctor coming near-- he simply cried until the echo was over! And in
Hindereen's case, a few extra days may lead to help for a digestive
problem he's been struggling with. We're hoping to see improvement over
the weekend, but if not, Dr. Alona suggested he may need some tests
before going home. Please pray with us for God to heal Hindereen with
or without further intervention, as He knows best. Now the countdown
begins for their final departure, and we all want to make it count and
fill it with good things for them. Please pray with us as we enjoy the
coming days together.
Click
to
send an e-mail
message to Hindereen and his grandmother.
Notify
me when Hindereen's page is updated
at this
email:
Wednesday,
August 12, 2009
Celebrating the Miracles
Filed
by
This
evening our Jerusalem staff and all of our families went to a local
park to celebrate with a picnic the miraculous reality that Mohammed,
Akram, Hindereen and Sidra are all finished with their surgeries. In
each case there have been extreme challenges, and for Akram and
Mohammed, apart from the Save A Child's Heart doctors, they would have
had no chance at a heart surgery and a full life.
The
families are all very grateful to God as well, and to the doctors and
nurses at Wolfson, and to all of us who have helped make their
surgeries possible. We thank God for all these lives and the investment
of His lovingkindness which has been made while they've been with us
this far.
 Thursday
August
6, 2009
Hindereen Passes His Echo
Filed
by
Hindereen
seems to be healing nicely, but has lost a little bit of weight, we
believe due to his teething. His echo went well today and the
nurses gave us good results.
Please
continue to pray for
Hindereen and Grandma. We know that they are eager to return
back
to Iraq to see his mother and family.
Click
to
send an e-mail
message to Hindereen and his grandmother.
Notify
me when Hindereen's page is updated
at this
email:
Monday,
August 3, 2009
Hindereen Sleeps His Way to
Jerusalem
Filed
by
Today
Hindereen and Mohammed were
both able to return to the house in Jerusalem! After being tested for
swine flu and monitoring of their fevers, they were both in good enough
condition to come home. They were given preventative
antibiotics because of the incidents of swine flu that have occurred in
the ward, and they will return for a check up on Thursday. Hindereen
was a little fussy in the car, but as you can see above he eventually
fell soundly asleep the rest of the way home!
Click
to
send an e-mail
message to Hindereen and his grandmother.
Notify
me when Hindereen's page is updated
at this
email:
 Sunday
August
2, 2009
Hindereen Back to Hospital
with Fever
Filed
by
We brought
both Hindereen and Mohammed
and Hindereen to Wolfson Medical Center in Tel Aviv last night after we
discovered they both were running a fever. After the urgent problem
with Sidra that morning and
the hospital informing us that a large number of the children there
were also suffering from an unknown fever or virus, we did not want to
take any risks. Mohammed's temperature seems to be fluctuating up and
down between normal and fever levels while Hindereen's temperature was
consistently very high. The entire children's ward is being tested to
find out if it is some bug going around the hospital and who has it,
and the results are expected to be in tomorrow morning. Thankfully, a
complication with their heart surgeries has been ruled out. At the last
report Mohammed and Hindereen were both doing better than they were
last night, exhibiting no symptoms apart from an elevated temperature,
and
pending the results of the testing, could be released as
early as tomorrow.
Click
to
send an e-mail
message to Hindereen and his grandmother.
Notify
me when Hindereen's page is updated
at this
email:
 Thursday
July 30, 2009
Hindereen Home to Jerusalem
Filed
by
After a few
days delay, Hindereen was finally discharged today, with loads of
medication we were able to sort out for him tonight. He seems
to be recovering well, and is happy, as always, in his grandmother's
arms. She too was beaming with pleasure.
Today was a
joyous day and I could feel the
relief as I entered the ward filled with the Iraqi kids and parents
that would be coming "home" to Jerusalem tonight. They were
all smiles and laughter.
After
loading
everyone into the van, they arrived back in Jerusalem tired but
seemingly content. We plan to have a welcome home party
tomorrow night with food, desserts and dancing! God is good!
Click
to
send an e-mail
message to Hindereen and his grandmother.
Notify
me when Hindereen's page is updated
at this
email:
Monday,
July
27, 2009
Hindereen Eating,
Post-Surgical Echo Looks Good
Filed
by
Hindereen
was very calm for his post-surgical echo today, he just wimpered a
little at the beginning. The doctor talked very softly to him
when he started wimpering and this is what calmed him down. He was so
relaxed that he had his little legs crossed watching the doctor. I
tried to get a picture of this, but when I took it he was so little and
the only angle I could get the picture made it look like a big pile of
pajamas.
Dr.
Alona came in and looked at the echo and asked why he had a fever. I
could not answer her because I didn't know, but she said his echo was
good and that  he was eating and drinking very
well now. He is also gaining weight. God has answered our
prayers, isn't He awesome?
We
thought Hindereen would be coming back to the Shevet Achim center in
Jerusalem, but because of the fever he had to stay in the hospital.
His
grandmother is very encouraged but she is also very tired, so please
hold her up in prayer, that she will find rest knowing that it won't be
much longer.
Click
to
send an e-mail
message to Hindereen and his grandmother.
Notify
me when Hindereen's page is updated
at this
email:
 Thursday
July
23, 2009
Praying that Hindereen Will
Eat and Drink
Filed
by
Hindereen
is still being fed by a tube to his stomach and a
nasal oxygen tube is used for his breathing. We noticed today
that his oxygen saturation kept fluctuating up and down.
Please continue praying for him and his grandmother, who is being a
very patient and attentive caregiver and is showing
much love for her grandson. Pray that he'll get hungry and begin to eat
and drink water. He has had trouble with his bowels in the
past and also dehydration. Pray that God will take care of all these
eating and drinking problems and make him a healthy and happy baby. He
is a very precious baby and we pray that God will pour His love out on
this baby and his grandmother in a special way.
Click
to
send an e-mail
message to Hindereen and his grandmother.
Notify
me when Hindereen's page is updated
at this
email:
Wednesday,
July 22, 2009
Hindereen Losing Weight,
Grandma Discouraged
Filed
by
The last
couple of days have been fairly eventful for little
Hindereen.
Two days ago he seemed to be doing well, but
yesterday
he was struggling a bit with his breathing
and feeling really tired and not able to completely
rest. Hindereen's grandma has been right by his side along
with many at Shevet trying to offer prayer and love, and so are the
other parents of the children that are currently in the
hospital.
Donna
adds:
Hindereen
has been out of the ICU for a week, and his surgery was two weeks ago,
but he's not recovering well. He is still not eating so is on a feeding
tube, and still requires a nasal canula for oxygen. He's previously
been happy while awake, but in the last few days is sleeping more and
losing weight. His grandmother is very discouraged and doesn't want to
leave his side. She needs to get out of the room and yet will not even
go to the cafeteria, asking others to bring the food to her. A
neurologist has checked Hindereen and not found any problems, and a
change in medication did not improve his condition. Yesterday I asked
Dr. Tamir about what is going on, and he said they don't yet know, or
know yet what they'll do next to help him. Will you please cover this
situation with your prayers? We need to see a supernatual change in
Hindereen's post-surgical recovery, so that he will be able to walk out
the life God created him for. Today his grandmother was feeling so
discouraged and hopeless she said to me that if he's going to die,
she'd rather take him to Iraq than have him die here. Please carry her
before God's throne so He will faithfully give His mercy and grace in
time of need.
Click
to
send an e-mail
message to Hindereen and his grandmother.
Notify
me when Hindereen's page is updated
at this
email:
 Thursday
July 16, 2009
Hindereen Leaves
Main
ICU
Filed
by
Hindereen
was moved to the intermediate ICU today where he is now recovering. His
heart surgery was completely successful but he still has a few hurdles
to overcome before he is in the clear. His chest tubes still remain,
draining fluid from his chest, and he is still fighting off an
infection. As of today the doctors are adjusting his medication to a
new combination which should hopefully make short work of these
problems and speed his recovery along.
Click
to
send an e-mail
message to Hindereen and his grandmother.
Notify
me when Hindereen's page is updated
at this
email:
 Tuesday
July 14, 2009
Hindereen Wants to be Held
Filed
by
We visited
Hindereen today in the ICU at Wolfson Medical Center near Tel Aviv.
Hindereen still has a few hurdles before he can be released from the
ICU. In addition to the chest tube draining fluid from his lungs, an
infection was also recently discovered in his blood. The doctors told
us that even so he is doing slightly better than yesterday. When I went
in to visit him, he was wide awake and moving his arms freely. When he
saw that I was there he looked straight at me and reached out his arms
to me. Because of his condition it was forbidden to touch him, which
was very difficult for both of us. Overall Hindereen seemed pretty
complacent all things considered, though he doesn't seem to like all
the tubes taped to him, which he was pulling at. When I sat with
Hindereen's grandmother for lunch, she was in good spirits, with the
support of some other Palestinian patients.
Click
to
send an e-mail
message to Hindereen and his grandmother.
Notify
me when Hindereen's page is updated
at this
email:
 Sunday
July 12, 2009
Hindereen Not Yet Eating
Filed
by
Over the
weekend I had a chance to speak with Hindereen's grandmother by phone,
and learned with the help of the other mothers that he was having
problems with his bowels. I spoke with the ICU doctors, and
they told me he had not yet begun eating, and they were not able to
transfer him from the ICU till he was eating. When several of us went
in today we were hoping he had been able to start eating over
the Sabbath, but we found him in the same corner of the ICU. The
doctors were concerned enough to ask me some questions about his
abilities before his surgery as he's having such a slow recovery.
When
I
went to see Hindereen today he was going in for an echocardiogram.
Please pray
for
Hindereen to respond well to the drainage of fluids, and begin to eat
so his strength will return. The doctors say he's doing ok, but
he's weak. Pray for his sweet grandmother to remain
strengthened too as she perseveres in caring for her precious grandson.
Click
to
send an e-mail
message to Hindereen and his grandmother.
Notify
me when Hindereen's page is updated
at this
email:
 Wednesday
July 8, 2009
Hindereen Comes Through to
Tears of Joy
Filed
by
Today
Hindereen underwent a critical heart surgery. I had the privilege of
being with his grandmother before the surgery and to go into the
operating room with Hindereen. His grandmother was very strong but she
was clearly carrying a heavy burden of worry for this precious child.
As we wheeled Hindereen into the room she tenderly kissed him on the
head. Hindereen whimpered quietly as if he knew the big procedure that
he was about to undergo.
The
surgery had a few initial complications during the preparation process
and was a very long and intricate procedure. Throughout the surgery, I
was impressed by the skill and dedication of the medical team and the
obvious care they showed towards Hindereen as an individual. The
surgery was successful and when it was finished we proudly wheeled
Hindereen back to ICU where we met his grandmother who was anxiously
waiting for his return.
The
relief on his grandmother’s face as she looked at him brought
tears to my eyes as I realized the impact this operation has had on his
family. Please continue to pray for him as he recovers from his surgery
in the ICU.
Also
pray for his grandmother that she would continue to know
God’s
peace and that she would be refreshed after such a tense day.
 Tuesday
July 7, 2009
Hindereen to Surgery in the
Morning
Filed
by
Hindereen
has been crying a lot and turning very blue whilst with us in
Jerusalem.
When we told this to his cardiologist this morning, Hindereeen was
immediately invited to the Wolfson Medical Center and is
scheduled to have open-heart surgery tomorrow.
He
was very
tough through all the needle pricks in preparation for surgery, and
enjoyed playing kicking games whilst lying on the hospital bed. As can
be seen by the chocolate on his face, Hindereen felt at home and
was enjoying this new hospital experience.
Both
Hindereen and Sidra are sharing the same hospital room. This is nice
for Hindereen’s grandmother and Sidra’s mother to
be together because they have gotten to know each other
whilst staying in the Shevet house in Jerusalem.
Please pray
for
Hindereen tomorrow during this life changing surgery and for his
grandmother that she might know God’s peace during this
critical time.
Thursday,
June 18, 2009
A Few Tears Were Shed Today
Filed
by
Hindereen cleared
another hurdle today en route to his heart surgery,
as he successfully navigated the PPD test for
tuberculosis. It cost a few tears, as the Iraqi children are
seasoned enough to know that a needle prick may be coming when someone
in white grabs their arm. But our hope is that these
children, like all of us, will look back one day and see that all
the suffering was worthwhile.
Click
to
send an e-mail
message to Hindereen and his grandmother.
Notify
me when Hindereen's page is updated
at this
email:
 Monday, June 15, 2009
Placid During Battery Of
Tests
Filed
by
We have spent
the last two days taking Hindereen and the three other
Iraqis who crossed with him through a battery of tests and examinations
at Wolfson Medical Center near Tel Aviv. Physical exams, X-rays, blood
work, EKG, and echocardiograms are some of the tests that they have
undergone in order to receive this life saving treatment. What are
normally simple exams have taken exponentially longer than usual, due
to the severity and complicated nature of these children's problems. An
echocardiogram which normally takes 15 minutes has taken an hour, and
the simple procedure of drawing blood has taken numerous pokes with the
needle in order to find the atrophied, hair-thin veins.
The
mothers and children, though visibly tired, have proven very
resilient in the  stress
of these last few grueling days. They are so eager and desperate to
help their children that they are willing to go through a great deal.
Hindereen has been the most placid of the bunch. His veins
were the
hardest to find during the blood work so he was poked several times,
but he seemed to recover very quickly and hasn't made much fuss.
After reviewing the blood work, the doctor determined
Hindereen was
very dehydrated and would need to be admitted to receive glucose IVs
overnight. In the morning, Hindereen will undergo more testing and
should be back with us once again in Jerusalem tomorrow. There is no
word yet about his exact surgery date.Click
to
send an e-mail
message to Hindereen and his grandmother.
Notify
me when Hindereen's page is updated
at this
email:
 Friday,
June 12, 2009
Hindereen Arrives In
Jerusalem
Filed
by
We brought
Hindereen (pictured at right in foreground) to Jerusalem
today, after a long journey from Jordan. At the border there is an
automatic door which divides
the security portion of the border from the waiting area which prevents
one side seeing to the other. But when the automatic door opened for a
crossing tour group, I was able to catch a glimpse of the Iraqi
families having their passports checked. I know how stressful crossing
the border can be, so I smiled and waved to them to let them know I was
there, and to reassure them that everything would be okay.
They saw me just as the automatic door was closing again and,
recognizing me from the Jordan s creening, smiled and
waved back.
About 20 minutes later they emerged from the security terminal,
excited to make it through, but understandably very tired. I greeted
them and offered them some snacks since they had certainly been in the
border well before lunch time. Minutes later, I secured everyone and
everything in our van and, after a few pictures, a few crying babies,
some seat shuffling, and some seat belt mishaps, we were on our way to
Jerusalem.
We arrived about two hours later and the new families were greeted by
all the volunteers and other Iraqi patients who prepared a special
Kurdish meal for them. When we entered the house Hindereen (seated at
center on grandma's lap) seemed very
impressed with all the commotion around him and took in the
surroundings.Click
to
send an e-mail
message to Hindereen and his grandmother.
Notify
me when Hindereen's page is updated
at this
email:
 Tuesday,
June 9, 2009
Hindereen Waiting For
Surgery
Filed
by
Hindereen,
from Iraq, will turn two years old next week. He suffers
from a heart defect called DORV, which stands for double outlet right
ventricle. The aorta rises from the right ventricle (the chamber of the
heart that pumps blood to the lungs), instead of from the left
ventricle (the normal pumping chamber to the body). Both the pulmonary
artery (which carries oxygen-poor blood to the lungs) and the aorta
(which carries oxygen-rich blood from the heart to the body) come from
the same pumping chamber. No arteries arise from the left ventricle,
which is the chamber that normally pumps blood to the body. This is a
problem because the right ventricle carries oxygen-poor blood, which
the aorta then carries throughout Hindereen's body.
Hindereen
and his grandmother came to our cardiac screening last week in Jordan.
After examining him, Dr. Tamir invited him for surgery in Israel. Until
Hindereen's turn comes to travel, he's staying at Dirk and Manuela's
home in
Jordan, along with four other children and their mothers.
Dirk
writes:
Today is the third day back home
after the screening which we remember as a joyful and at the same time
exhausting experience. Five Iraqi families came to our home in Jordan
with us to await their visas to Israel, and like the rest of us passed
almost the entire first day at the guest flat sleeping. Of course
everything is so new to them, and they were very quiet and did not want
to disturb us or use our kitchen although we offered it to
them many times. They prepared their own food downstairs, and only when
they ran out of water or other necessities did they leave their
quarters.
Communication
with the families here was quite difficult at first, since they hardly
speak any Arabic (let alone English), with the exception Hindereen's
grandmother. This older lady, who herself has raised 11 children, is
active and has helped us with translation a lot. A Kurdish translator,
Komar, arrived here on Friday and it really helps a lot to have him
build a bridge to their culture (even though two of the families speak
a different dialect than Komar and the other three families).
Click
to
send an e-mail
message to Hindereen and his grandmother.
Notify
me when Hindereen's page is updated
at this
email:
|
|
