Little miss Naya from Qalqilya came to Sheba Medical Center today with her father to run some post-surgery tests. She received an open-heart surgery at the beginning of June from which she made a strong recovery. In fact, her father kindly delivered both the hosptial, and our community a thoughtful thank you gift for the care Naya received.

Her stength even after such a surgery was evident as she was practically bouncing off the walls during all of her testing which lasted a few hours. She ran all around the children’s cardiology unit playing hide and seek, looking out the windows, and scribbling on my journal which is now decorated with her little drawings.

Praise God that little Naya was discharged today after spending so much time in Sheba Hospital waiting for her blood coagulation levels to be acceptable after her successful surgery to treat her single ventricle heart.

We will see her for follow-up appointments no doubt, but for now we can rejoice with her and her family that she has recovered well and can enjoy the freedom of being home again.

Thank you for your prayers for this little one throughout her journey with us.

As I walked down the hall of the Children’s Hospital of Sheba Medical, on the ninth floor, I looked into a room and my eyes met Naya’s. She smiled immediately and jumped off her chair. She came out into the hall to greet me and her mom was right behind her.

Naya is doing well and, God willing, she will be discharged soon, maybe even tomorrow. The blood coagulation issue is being resolved, so we are happy for Naya and her family. She posed for a picture with the victory-hand sign.

Then a wonderful woman who is an art therapist came to work with Naya. She does a great job engaging with the children in a positive time that is educational, interactive, and playful.

Pray for Naya to be fully recovered and be able to return home soon.

Naya was a happy girl today. She came out of her room smiling, holding her new toy. She stepped towards the hallway to show me how it works. She lifted up her arm and pressed the button. Suddenly, many bubbles shot out of the bubble maker. It was quite a toy, a bubble gun and a megaphone in one. I was glad that Naya had a toy that she enjoyed so much and kept her happy. Her mom told me they may be in the hospital for four to five days more. Please pray for Naya and her blood coagulation to improve so that she can return home.

It was a pleasant surprise to see Naya and her mother and father walking together in the children’s hospital lobby today. Naya has been staying upstairs on the eleventh floor, and I was planning to go up to see her when she magically appeared. She was smiling and her father was also happy to see us. Naya spotted a table with Lego-like toys and was drawn to it. Little Rashad from Nablus was also at the table playing and it was a sweet sight to watch these children playing together nicely and having fun. Naya is expected to be discharged once the doctors have secured her blood coagulation levels. Pray for Naya’s blood coagulation to be excellent.

The doctors at Sheba Hosital have decided that Naya needs a little more time at the hospital. She is doing well and we expect her to be discharged soon.

Today I brought her medicine to use at home from the Internal Pharmacy. She is one step closer to returning home to Qalqilya. Her mom showed me that Naya was peacefully sleeping.

Pray that Naya can fully recover and be able to return home to her beloved father.

When I went to Sheba Medical Center today to see Naya, I found that she was moved upstairs to the ninth floor instead of being discharged as anticipated.

When I met Naya and her mother there, a group of nurses and doctors stopped to talk to them. They were drawn to cute little Naya who was sharing with us all that she wants to go to the sea. She wants to swim in the sea and go to the beach. She was very passionate and we all would like to see Naya fulfill her dream of having fun at the sea.

Please pray for Naya to be fully recovered and be healthy enough to not only return home, but even visit the sea.

At Sheba Medical Center today, as I was walking through the primary ICU on the way to the secondary ICU to see Naya, she suddenly appeared around the corner. She strolled into the ICU, her face lit up the room with her beautiful smile. Everyone in the room was captivated by the cuteness and bright, shining face of Naya. I could hear the Sheba staff commenting in Hebrew about how cute she is.

Naya is looking very healthy and she is in good spirits. Her family is hoping to be discharged from the hospital tomorrow. Pray that Naya is healthy and approved for discharge.

Naya smiled warmly as her father joked with her about getting up and going home. She and her family were hoping to return home today, but her father said that they will probably leave the hospital Sunday or Monday.

Naya has been doing well after her surgery. The doctors required some further tests and imaging to positively confirm her release. Naya and her father and I went down to the bottom floor of Sheba Children’s Hospital to the imaging department to receive an X-ray and verify her recovery.

Please pray for Naya to completely recover and that she can return home soon.

It was great to hear and see that Naya is doing well. She had a small surgery yesterday to fix some bleeding near her leg. Her father said the surgery went well and she might even be discharged from the hospital tomorrow. She was in a good mood because her father keeps her happy by joking and warmly caring for her.

Pray that Naya would be completely healed and be able to go home.

When I went to check the secondary ICU for Naya, I was surprised to find she was not there, nor was she in the primary ICU. No one was there no patients or doctors or nurses. Only a cleaning lady was there. She told me they were moved to the underground parking garage. When I arrived at the underground hospital Naya and her father were sleeping, but her mother was awake and told me that Naya was going to have surgery on her leg. The doctor confirmed that Naya’s leg was bleeding and required the surgery this evening. Please pray for the doctors to have wisdom and understanding on how to best treat Naya, and that she would be healed.

Naya was doing well today when I saw her, but she still has some healing to do. Her doctors and nurses attempted to put a new IV into her arm in a new place. It was very difficult for the doctor to find her veins and I felt bad for both the doctor and for Naya. Even though she was in pain she hardly whimpered at the multiple attempts of the needle to find the vein. Naya did a great job, she’s a very strong little three-year-old. The doctor was very careful and gentle with Naya. We hope to see Naya moved to the secondary ICU ward very soon. Please pray for her continued recovery and that her health is completely restored.

What a great experience to see three-year-old Naya doing so well after her surgery yesterday, and to meet with and share in the joy of her very kind parents. They were rejoicing in God and grateful for the surgery having been a success. We rejoiced with them.

Yesterday, Naya had a Fontan surgery to improve the oxygen levels in the body and to reduce the workload on her single ventricle heart. She was slightly awake, but very drowsy from the medicine she is on. She was able to say hello, and we are blessed by that great progress. Please pray for little Naya to heal and recover quickly. 

It was a big day for three-year-old Naya of Ramallah. With a big smile she went in for her third and final heart surgery early this morning. I waited with her anxious mother, then about noon Naya’s father arrived. Understandably, they were both very concerned for their little daughter. Much to all our relief, an Arab Israeli doctor appeared after about six hours to tell us the surgery went well. From beginning to end, we waited seven hours for Naya to emerge from the operating room doors.

She looked really good because she wasn’t attached to many machines, a comforting sight for us all. Pray for Naya to recover quickly and be completely healed. 

Naya was in a good mood today when I visited her. She really has a great relationship with her father and she was sharing with me about her “Baba.” He had sent me a message earlier that Naya would be going into surgery tomorrow morning. We had a video call with the surgeon explaining the procedure for the surgery tomorrow and a kind Arabic-speaking nurse translated the Hebrew from the doctor to Arabic for Naya’s mother to understand. It was so thoughtful of the Israeli surgeon to make a private video call to explain the surgery and we were all very grateful to the nurse to help Naya’s family fully understand what their little girl will have done. Please pray for Naya and her surgery to be a great success tomorrow morning and that this sweet little girl recovers quickly.

Naya is a runner! She was running all through the cardiology department lobby when I saw her today. Her father ran after her and he was breathing heavily. “I am the one who will need a heart surgery!” he joked. We all laughed as Naya went running toward the elevator, now in the opposite direction. I attempted to take her picture and I began to chase her. This made her laugh and run even more. As her father, mother, and I made chase she bolted toward the bomb shelter door, then returned at the sound of her father’s rebuke.

I was happy to see Naya in such good spirits and high energy. Pray for Naya that her catheterization is a success and her heart health will be better for her wild and active life!

Naya is our new West Bank child from Qalqilya. Naya came to Sheba Medical Center this morning with both her mother and father. She came over to me to show me her expandable toy.

Naya was quite sociable and talked to other little Arabic-speaking girls her age, around three to five years. Naya chose a stuffed bear from guest volunteer Wendy. She was hugging the bear tight and happy to have a new friend to snuggle. She was also curious, looking out the window of the eighth floor to the green landscape below.

Naya had a previous heart surgery in a hospital in Ramallah. The next heart surgery will be the Fontan surgery. Today, in preparation for that, she had an echocardiogram. She was quite displeased and uncomfortable with the ultrasound wand and gel used on her chest and neck, but eventually she got accustomed to the procedure.

Naya’s cardiologist stopped me later in the day and told me that she has a very complex condition. The cardiologist is writing a report on her and we hope to have a better understanding of her heart condition and how we can be of service to her and her family.

Overall, it was a nice visit, and we were pleased to meet this nice family. Please pray for Naya and her next step in the process of healing and recovery.