We arrived at the airport just in time for boarding the plane, so we had only a short goodbye, which was much better for everyone's emotions.
We waited until we knew they'd cleared customs inside without any problems, and bid our final farewells with waves and blown kisses through the airport windows.
Varen is the first child I've been involved with who came expecting a successful surgery which was not able to go forward. The Save A Child's Heart doctors are carefully honest with every family about the treatment, and unusual cases like this one are hard on everyone who has come together to help save these children's lives. Even though we didn't see the hoped for outcome, we'll never give up on what God can do whether we see the miracles we pray for or not. With this in mind, we sent Vareen and her mother on their way home knowing they are loved, and that we'll all be praying for them as we trust God with Vareen's life.
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This morning Vareen underwent the catheterization process to determine whether or not surgery for her heart would be possible. When I arrived early this morning, she was full of her usual energy and didnt stop singing to herself while waiting to undergo the procedure. This brought a smile to her mothers face who was clearly very worried.
Vareen has a good relationship with the Israeli doctors, and when the time came for her catheterization she walked hand in hand with one into the lab.
The procedure turned out to be a long process and revealed many complications. During her recovery, Vareen enjoyed blowing bubbles in her hospital bed although she was obviously very tired and not feeling quite like her normal self. Her mother was under a lot of strain as she waited for the translator to arrive in order to communicate the results to her.
Vareen has a large Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) which means that the connection between the main blood vessels of her heart failed to close after birth, which caused an abnormal circulation of blood within her heart and lungs. The pulmonary resistance caused by this abnormality is so great that the doctors concluded that she was inoperable. This may have been preventable if caught early but due to Vareens age, the complication is too extensive to correct.
Vareen will return to Jerusalem tomorrow and stay at the Shevet Achim house for a while in order to give her mother time to react to the news of Vareen being medically inoperable and ask any questions she may have. We value the opportunity to have this time to be with this special girl and enjoy her many talents. She is still so friendly and full of so much character! Please continue to pray for Vareen and her mother that they may be drawn to the One who is the source of all hope during this difficult time.
Donna adds:
The news about Vareen was a shock to all of us, and Dr. Tamir was expressing his sorrow and emotion as he spoke with me about it by phone. We called Mazal, our faithful Kurdish friend who translates from Hebrew to Kurdish when we have situations needing specific medical detail like this one. As Dr. Tamir explained to Mazal and she explained to Vareen's mother, we could see that she didn't fully grasp what she was being told. I sat with her for a few minutes after the explanation, and left the room to visit Deya. I saw Vareen's mother go out of the room with Mazal again, into the nurse's station where Dr. Tamir was preparing to leave for the day. This time she asked questions about what she'd already heard, and it began to sink in with clear understanding that her daughter's life could not be saved by surgery. As she turned back to the room her eyes were flooded with tears, and she approached Deya's mother, who was in the room next door, and shook her head "no." She briefly explained that surgery was not possible for Vareen, and turned to go to her daughter. She sat beside Vareen and wept, and I sat beside her and held her and prayed. When I knew it was enough time, I felt it best to let her have her own space and time to grieve over the situation as Vareen slept. We left her with kisses and prayers. Please join us in asking for God's grace to reach deeply into this difficult situation for this family.
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Today was the start of Vareen's catheterization process, an examination which will reveal the anatomy of her heart in preparation for surgery. Vareen endured the catheterization prep work at Wolfson Hospital. She was a perfect soldier, braving her way through a blood pressure reading and a few painful pricks.
Although scared at first, it only took a few moments for Vareen to regain her cheerful demeanor. Her smile only widened when she was led to her clean room and handed a hospital gown that matched the hospital sheets! In her excitement, she did not waste a single moment, but quickly crawled into her new wear.
Things are looking well and both Vareen and her mother were comfortably settling in as we left them at the hospital today. Please remember to keep her in your prayers as she makes her way through the catheterization tomorrow.
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w into, creating her own balloon. Then while waiting to get her echocardiogram done, Vareen made use of the time by playing in the little house and serving us "food" from the window.Please leave a comment for the child or for the Shevet team.
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 or English, with the exception of one grandmother. This older lady, who herself has raised 11 children, is active and has helped us with translation a lot. A Kurdish translator named Komar arrived here on Friday. 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.
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