Sharwin 's Heart Surgery

Thumbnail: 
Sharwin
Age: 
10
From: 
northern Iraq
Diagnosis: 
Transposition of the Great Arteries (TGA)

Sharwin Carries On in the Hospital

Posted on Tue, 08/09/2011 - 07:52 by Ellen_Husted


Sharwin had his chest tubes removed on Saturday as there were no more secretions being produced in his lungs. Yesterday he had an echo which showed a slight amount of fluid in his lungs (90mm) which was less than the day previous. Today he met with a respiratory therapist to improve his lung function. Hopefully he will recovery quickly.

In other news, the nurse noticed that Sharwin is developing slight left-sided scoliosis. The doctors suspect that the excessive fluid buildup and retention may have caused the muscles in his back to contract more strongly to one side (thus causing the curvature of the spine). Sharwin is meeting with a physical therapist in order to revolve this issue; now that his lungs are improving, hopefully his spinal curvature will improve as well. Please pray for his full and speedy recovery.

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The Last Giant Step

Posted on Mon, 08/23/2010 - 01:00 by Simcha_Kimsey

Sharwin was up and ready to go when I arrived this morning to take him and his
mom to the hospital for his final evaluation. He sat on the porch with his
buddy Wahaj, waiting to embark on an adventure at the hospital. He had a smile on his face and was ready to face the day. Sharwin has been such an encouragement to the other children and has helped to keep their spirits up during difficult times.

He was at the hospital for his final echo today, and was the first of the patients to be seen at the echo clinic. Sharwin's echo was clear with no fluid at all on his lungs. His heart function was great as the doctors wanted, even the nurses commented on how well he looked today.

Sharwin was taken off all but one of his medications. He was released and
discharged to go home to Kurdistan by Dr. Riki Sokol, the pediatric resident at
Wolfson.

Sharwin will go home on a very simple regimine of medications as his condition was so improved by the surgery at Wolfson. His cardiac progress has been a continued encouragement.

Sharwin's mom is glad that his fingers and lips are no longer blue, and that he is able to play without pain. She was so elated today at the opportunity to go home with a healthy son who is happy and looking forward to school in Kurdistan. His mom, Aisha, was even attempting to use her newly-acquired English vocabulary to express her joy and thanked us and the doctors at Wolfson. They all have enjoyed Sharwin's sweet nature and were there to congratulate him on a road finished and wished him a great journey home.

As Sharwin travels back to Kurdistan with his mother, please pray for a safe return. Please remember that all of you have been a part of his road to
recovery. Miracles are a part of this child's life and we thank Abba for his
safe return of Sharwin from death to life!

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Follow-Up Echo Shows NoMore Problems

Posted on Mon, 08/16/2010 - 07:52 by Ellen_Husted


Sharwin had a great echo today! There is no fluid in his lungs or around his heart. He was taken off two medications and will be going in for his final echo on Monday; if the echo is clean, then he will be going home to Iraq. Praise God that he is recovering so well!

Please pray that the echo on Monday would be good, so that Sharwin and his mother can go home with smiles on their faces and joy in their hearts.

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Sharwin Joyfully Leaves theHospital

Posted on Wed, 08/11/2010 - 01:00 by Ellen_Husted


Sharwin was discharged from the hospital today! Praise God!

He looks great, and is so happy to be at home. Thank you for your prayers.

Sharwin will be going in for an echo on Monday, so please pray that all would be well, and that he would have excellent results.

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Sharwin Is Finally Out of the ICU

Posted on Tue, 08/10/2010 - 01:00 by Ellen_Husted


Sharwin is doing much better! Today he was released from the ICU and admitted to a regular bed on the floor. He had an echo this morning that showed 10 ml of fluid in his lungs (much better than the 90 ml that were there two days ago). Hopefully he will be discharged in a couple of days. Meanwhile as these pictures show he is in good spirits and even appearing to enjoy himself in the hospital.

Please pray that he would continue recover and indeed be discharged soon.



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Enduring Suffering

Posted on Mon, 08/02/2010 - 01:00 by Ellen_Husted

Yesterday Sharwin had a follow-up echo which showed that the fluid around his heart and lungs has returned. Therefore the doctors re-inserted the chest tubes that were removed last week. This is of course hard as Sharwin has been in the hospital for a long time and both he and his mother are anxious to return to Iraq. Please pray that Sharwins body would stop the excess secretions, and that his lymph system would be able to compensate for the excess fluid production. He is in pain from the insertion procedure yesterday, so please also pray that he and his mother would be comforted as both of them are enduring physical and emotional suffering.

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Things Looking Up ForSharwin

Posted on Fri, 07/30/2010 - 01:00 by Ellen_Husted

Sharwin had his chest tubes removed today! The fluid production has reduced in his lungs, and he is doing much better than in days past. The doctors will continue to keep Sharwin hospitalized in order to monitor his respiratory function, but hopefully he will be discharged soon. Please pray that he would continue to recover, and be able to return home soon.

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Tea and Company

Posted on Wed, 07/21/2010 - 01:00 by Charles_Hicks

Sharwin still has a lot of fluid draining. He will be at the hospital for the next few days. He is in good spirits, and the presence of Ilham and her mother in the next bed over has noticeably reduced the mundanity of Sharwin's extended stay at the hospital. When we were up at the hospital yesterday to admit Ilham, Sharwin's mother asked me and then Simcha for tea bags. The moms don't care for the tea at the hospital very much. So today, we were like Santa Claus showing up with a large box of tea for them and the Gaza mothers. Nothing like your own tea to make you feel at home.

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A Talk With Dad

Posted on Mon, 07/19/2010 - 01:00 by Charles_Hicks

The fluid around Sharwin's heart had abated a bit today, but he was very dehydrated. The nurses opted to give him plasma in order to restore necessary cells into his system. The thing about plasma is that it is administered through a very thick needle and is quite painful. The nurses put it in and gave him some medication in order to nullify the pain a bit. To pass the time, Simcha got him an ice cream (because the doctors said there was no problem with him eating cold foods), and Sharwin and I played a memory card game. The IV was finally finished after about four hours. The nurses gave him Oxycodon to help with his suffering, and we could tell. He was a much giddier for the rest of the day. Sharwin's father called while he was in the middle of plasma, and Sharwin's mother lit up like a school girl. Sharwin and his father talked for a good while with Sharwin smiling and bobbing his foot for the whole time. Sharwin is still in the hospital for now.

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Fluid Still Draining

Posted on Sun, 07/18/2010 - 07:52 by Ellen_Husted

Sharwin is still in the hospital for the drainage of the fluid in his lungs. He is doing well, but is still producing a large amount of secretions that are pooling in his lungs. He has two chest tubes that are draining the secretions (almost 100 ml per hour) that will continue to drain until the secretions can be pharmaceutically managed. The doctor speculates that he will remain at the hospital at least two more days. Please pray for Sharwin and his mother, as they are Kurdish speaking and are thus isolated from the hospital staff and other patients. Pray that this fluid drainage would resolve itself soon and that they would be able to return home soon; he and his mother have been here a long time.

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