When we arrived at Sheba Hospital this morning, we just saw Abed leaving for Gaza in an ambulance.

We are happy that we could see him and his wonderful mother in the last days, and we are also happy for them, that they can already go home again.

In one or two months Abed will come back again to see if it is possible once again to remove his tracheostomy. Let’s pray for blessings for this lovely family!

Today we welcomed our good old friend Abed and his amazing mother back at Sheba hospital.

After half a year back in Gaza I was very excited and happy to see them again! Abed has grown so much, he is breathing on his own now and is still so cute. He will stay for a few days at Sheba to see if his tracheostomy can be removed ,and in the meantime we enjoy having him and his mom back here. All the nurses and other staff in the ICU have been very happy to see him again and came to his room to talk with Abed’s mother.

Please pray that doctors can successfully remove the tube and that Abed can go home soon again!

After nine months in the Sheba Medical Center, little Abed was discharged today. An ambulance came this morning to pick him. There was finally a free bed for him in the hospital in Gaza, so he can be close to his family.

Before they left the hospital I played a little bit with him, fed him and his mom dressed him in completely new clothes for the occasion. Now a new chapter in his life will begin. His mom was very excited to return home, but also a little bit worried how everything will work. But first things first, this evening she will have a welcome party at her home and she is really looking forward to it.

We will miss Abed and his wonderful mother, but we are so happy for him that he could finally go home. We enjoyed the time with them here, especially as we could talk English with his mom.

Let’s thank God for everything He did in Abed’s life and pray for Abed’s whole family!

Everything on this end is together for Abed to return home to Gaza. He has his new ventilator and all the things that were missing for it. He also has the milk he needs. Now we are just waiting for the information that the hospital in Gaza has a room for Abed.

We are very happy for Abed and his mother, as they can go home very soon, finally, after this long journey. Living in a hospital for such a long time, and waiting without seeing an end in sight, is very hard to do and can also be difficult on one’s mental health.

At last, Abed’s mother will be reunited with her husband and children. We wish her and Abed all the best and hope that Abed can adjust to the new ventilator very well.

Let’s pray for them and for the last piece to fall into place, that is, a room in the Gaza hospital, and the final go-ahead discharge from Sheba hospital.

Today, when coworker Joanne and I visited Abed in Sheba Medical Center, we found his mother sitting crying next to him.

Under tears, she explained to us that the doctors took him off the ventilator in the morning to see how he is breathing on his own. She talked shortly with a doctor and when she entered the room again, she said she found her son black and lifeless. Doctors reacted immediately and now Abed is back on the ventilator.

This step back is very difficult for Abed’s mother. She is depressed and really wants to go back to Gaza. She said her daughter is sick at home and she has not seen her family for nine months. We are already working on getting them back to Gaza. Today, we sat a while together, listened to her, encouraged her and prayed for Abed.

Please pray for strength and healing for Abed, that he may learn to breathe on his own. We also pray for his mother, that God encourages her and that she gains new strength. And finally, please pray that God makes a way for them to return to Gaza. Thank you for your prayers!

Today I went to Sheba Hospital and saw little Abed for the first time. He is so cute and was smiling very much today. While we were talking a little bit to his mother, we played with him and he was laughing a lot.

Sadly, his new portable ventilator does not work right. The doctor said that the hospital has already contacted the manufacturer to see if there is an electrical problem. God willing, we will have an answer within two days.

Thank you for praying for the ventilator situation to be corrected and that Abed and his mom can go back home soon.

Abed is getting used to his new portable ventilator in preparation for his possible return to Gaza. Meanwhile we are also working with the hospital in Gaza to prepare for his arrival. We have to be sure he has access to a long list of medications as well as ancillary medical equipment.

Today was suggested that one of the ICU doctors in Gaza will come to spend a day or two with him in Israel in order to learn about the portable ventilator, and also establish a relationship with the Israeli doctors which could be very helpful in the case of future questions.

And we’re also still in discussion with the special respiratory rehabilitation hospital in Jerusalem about the possibility that they may step in and help Abed. Only God knows the end of this matter from the beginning, we trust it will be good.

We found Abed asleep in his chair this afternoon, still waving his little right hand back and forth as he dozed.

His mother is more anxious, as her other son Mohammed is hospitalized in Gaza and calling out for his mother. Tomorrow a portable ventilator will be delivered to Sheba hospital and Abed’s mother will be trained in its use. God willing by the end of the week Abed can be safely back in Gaza, the family’s unity restored after eight months in the hospital in Israel.

Today I visited Abed and his mother still at Sheba Medical Center.

Abed’s mother is very exhausted. She told me her mind, heart, soul, and body is tired. It’s very hard to live in the hospital for such a long time, being inside most of the time in the little room and seeing children passing by in the ICU right next to her room.

In addition to that, Abed is still stable. From a cardiac standpoint, he doesn’t need any support, except the ventilator. All the nurses and doctors are just waiting until he can be discharged.

Also the nurse mentioned that this week was difficult, but I’m glad to see that Abed’s mother has a good relationships with the nurses who are around the clock present.

We really hope that soon the final decision is made for Abed to go to the Alyn Rehabilitation hospital in Jerusalem or to buy the ventilator. His mom definitely prefers the first option. Also she said she waited for so long, continually very patient, and she really wants the very best for her child still.

After she told me she is doing everything for her child, even accepting the feeling of being imprisoned, I think she is a great mother and I admire how well she deals with the situation. She told me I would experience these strong feelings only as a mother, maybe one day with my own child. It made me also think of Jesus and how much love he has for his children, willing to be nailed to a cross, to suffer for them, for their sake.

Please pray for strength and patience and the final decision to be made soon.

At Sheba Hospital today,  doctors and Abed’s mother were trying to make the decision whether to move Abed to Alyn Rehabilitation Hospital in Jerusalem or to procure a ventilator for him, which, with great effort, she could use for Abed at home in Gaza. There are problems with electricity in Gaza so this would not be easy for her.

This decision involves many aspects to consider and is a difficult situation from every angle. We really want the best for Abed and I think we need God’s wisdom here.

Also it might be difficult for Abed’s mother to continue still being in Israel for so long and this may affect her decision-making.

Let’s pray for strength and patience for her so that the best decision can be made for Abed.

Abed is still in the pediatric ICU in Sheba hospital. Doctors don’t have any news other than to wait and see if he improves.

Abed’s mother is friendly as always and it’s nice to have a little chat with her in English. Please pray for Abed’s improvement and for his mother to continue to walk in patience. She is a strong woman.

Today at Sheba hospital, Abed had his surgery to repair a hernia and at the same time have a circumsicion completed for him.

Abed’s surgery took around one hour, which was very fast and it was successful.

Abed’s mother and I were very thankful when Abed came out of his surgery. She is still hoping that Abed will be able to be admitted Alyn Rehabilitation Hospital in Jerusalem, but this is taking some time.

Abed is still receiving some medicine post-surgery to keep him calm. But he is doing well, thank God.

Today at Sheba hospital, I visited chubby little Abed and his mother. I found him sitting on his bed in a car seat. I asked his mother why he was sitting in it.  She said she believed it to be helpful in strengthening Abed’s muscles and preparing him for sitting up on his own later on.  He also gets his milk in this position because it helps him to swallow better. Little Abed has a Inguinal hernia and therefore he needs to have a surgery soon.

His mother is a bit worried about this surgery because of Abed’s other health issues. Please be praying for little Abed and his lovely mother. I really always love to visit them. It feels like visiting a friend. They are like family to me. At the same time, it makes me sad they are here for such a long time and can’t be reunited with their family. So please keep praying for them.

This afternoon, co-worker Sabrina and I stopped by the Sheba hospital pediatric ICU to visit little Abed and his sweet mother. Abed has grown so much since his arrival in Israel four months ago— he looks like a completely different boy from the tiny two-months-premature baby in the pictures his mother showed me.

The first thing Sabrina noticed was how round and chubby his cheeks have gotten, and his mother was excited to tell us how he’s begun to recognize her and respond when she plays with him.

Abed is still waiting to be transferred to the Alyn Rehabilitation hospital in Jerusalem, and his mother is quite anxious about the possibility of him getting another infection in the ICU at Sheba. In the meantime, though, the nurses in the ICU love having this sweet little guy around— during the fifteen minutes Sabrina and I spent in his room, several of them stopped by to wave and blow kisses to him, and one assured his mother that they were happy to keep him as long as they could.

Thank God for such a kind and caring team of nurses, and please pray that Abed’s transfer to the rehabilitation hospital would happen soon.

Every time I go to Sheba hospital to visit Abed and his mother, I really enjoy being with them. Abed’s mom is like a sister to me.

Her little Abed is doing better step by step. A few weeks ago, they did start to give him a small amount of milk orally and so far he is doing well in taking it. Slowly, they add more liquid to his bottle.

He definitely needs to gain weight as you can see in the pictures, he almost looks smaller than his bottle. Please continue to pray for this lovely little boy and his mother who is patient, but it isn’t always easy.

There are always a lot of things happening at the same time at Shevet with all the children and especially in the hospital. It was the same today when I went with one of our mothers who’s child just finished his surgery and was brought up to the ICU as I found another mother looking worried standing on the side. It was Abed’s mother.

I went to her and greeted her with a warm hug and asked her if something happened with Abed. She told me they are doing a Tracheostomy for him in his room in the ICU. The reason is his lungs are not working properly.

It was quite surprising for me that they did the surgery for him in his room. But the whole procedure took around one hour and thank God it went well.

Abed’s lovely mother told me a few days ago when I visited her, that Abed is taking backwards steps in his healing process and was sad about it. So please continue to lift little Abed and his lovely mother up in your prayers.

Today when I visited the lovely mother of Abed at Sheba hospital, she told me doctors are planning to do a surgery for baby Abed to correct a lung problem, possibly this week. He is taking antibiotics at the moment because he has the hospital bacteria in his blood that many children get when they are there. Abed is really a small baby; you can’t see him very well in the pictures as he is often under his blanket and I’m not allowed to enter his room when I visit due to this bacteria.

Understandably, Abed’s mother is worried about him. Medical staff has reassured her they will take proper steps in the right order for Abed, lung problem or not, to the best of their ability. Please join me in prayer that she may feel God’s peace in the whole difficult situation, and will practice patience during all her time in the hospital. Abed’s little life is in God’s hands, for which I’m thankful. I hope his mother can have the same point of view.

Seeing Abed is always shocking because he is so, so small. The nurse taking care of him asked how his mother was doing with the exchange of rocket fire between Gaza and Israel, and this is very characteristic of the care of the medical staff at Sheba. They show compassion not just for the child as a patient, but for all aspects of the child’s life, and are ready and willing to treat everyone.

Abed is stable, but he is recovering after last week’s bronchoscopy which they had to do because his catheterization done previously in Gaza, a vessel was closed which stifled the blood flow to his lungs. He lived like that for two months.

It is true that there is this sense of renewed fervor for what we are doing because even with all the conflict, we are drawn together over this one little life.

I visited Abed and his mom at Sheba hospital today. She said her little boy is still intubated but stable. I was happy to hear that news after yesterday’s difficulties stabilizing him. Abed’s mother was in quite a good mood today. She has demonstrated much strength throughout Abed’s illness and subsequent surgery.

Please continue to pray for little Abed, that he may recover well and can be extubated soon.

Abed was born two months premature in the Gaza Strip, and immediately put on a respirator due to respiratory distress. After two weeks doctors were able to wean him from this breathing support, but when he was still cyanosed an echocardiogram was performed which revealed his congenital heart defect, a severe narrowing of the aorta.

Doctors have agreed to accept him for emergency transfer to Israel on Sunday.