Beautiful little Rifan arrived to Sheba Hospital from Gaza today for a check-up in the Pulmonary Clinic. For a long time following her heart surgery in 2021, she had a chronic cough and difficulty breathing. However, she finally seems to be doing better, and if her next check-up with the pulmonologist is okay, she can continue follow up for this issue only in Gaza.
Rifan has grown a lot since the last time we saw her, and is happiest when she’s allowed to roam around on her own. She was a lot happier for the whole day than she looks in this picture– she wasn’t too excited about her mom carrying her through the border crossing! We’ll see her again in three months for an echo and what we hope will be her final pulmonary check-up.
Early this morning Rifan was scheduled for a CT at Sheba Hospital. Because of this, she and her mother came already yesterday from Gaza to our house in Ashdod to spend the night here. Yesterday afternoon we took them and a couple of other families from Kurdistan and Gaza who were staying in our house, to the beach. It was so great seeing the kids having so much fun in the ocean and the mothers enjoying their time together. Normally kids coming from Gaza don’t have the opportunity to see much of Israel since they’re only coming for one day most likely. Because of that, Rifan’s mother was even more happy to be able to go to the beach. And especially Rifan had a lot of fun. It didn’t take long until she was completely wet and surrounded by water and sand. We had a great time together and I’m so glad that they had a nice time with us before their appointment this morning.
After waiting for a couple of hours at the hospital, Rifan was finally called into the CT room. From then on everything went pretty fast. Even so, it was only a CT scan, yet Rifan’s mother was really worried and said that she wanted to be with her daughter. After reassuring her that Rifan was in good hands, we waited together patiently until the scan was done. We still had to wait with Rifan for a while since she needed to be observed for one hour after the CT, but once the nurse told us that we could leave, Rifan’s mother directly went to buy some food for Rifan. Coworker Faye and I later returned Rifan and her mother to the Gaza border. Hopefully we’ll have the results from the CT scan soon and news about whether everything is fine with Rifan.
Rifan and her mother were collected from the Erez Border Crossing with Gaza and were brought to Sheba Hospital for Rifan’s follow-up echo. It took a while for the doctor to finish the echo because Rifan cried a lot and wouldn’t hold still. We had to hold her arms and legs for the doctor even to be able to do the echo. Thank God Rifan is doing well and her heart looks fine. She still has a really bad cough however, which is why she has an appointment in May for a pulmonology follow-up at Sheba.
It was really great seeing Rifan and her mother again. They’re both really lovely. While waiting for some other things, Rifan’s mother met some of the other mothers in hospital whom she is friends with. But Rifan wasn’t in such a good mood today and began crying over and over again. Gladly, the day went pretty fast and it didn’t take long until we were on our way back to the Gaza border again.
When the elevator doors opened on the cardiac floor at Sheba this morning, I was met by Rifan’s mom, a stroller piled high with bags in tow. “We’re done, we’re going home!” she announced cheerfully.
Sure enough, the doctors decided to send Rifan home to let her fully recover from a virus while they discuss the next steps for her. They expect she will need a stent in one of her bronchi, and they want to see her again in a few weeks to evaluate her situation.
We brought Rifan and her mom back to the border late in the afternoon and waved goodbye until next time. Please pray for a full recovery for Rifan and wisdom for her doctors as they plan the next steps.
At the moment, our little Rifan has to go through Influenza, so she is not as fit and vivid as usual. But still her mother is taking her for walks through Sheba Hospital, to get some air and see different things than just her room. When I asked a nurse about Rifan, she told me that Rifan will probably need a stent to treat her narrow bronchi, but they will have to wait with the intervention until Rifan is healthy again.
So Rifan’s mother is taking the best care of her child that she can, getting strength by all the other Gaza-mothers she is meeting here in the hospital.
We pray for our little girl to get better soon, and for patience for her mother. May the Lord give her all the strength she needs to get through this time away from her home and family.
Today I checked again on our girl Rifan at Sheba Hospital and asked the doctor what happened after she got admitted some days ago. He told me they did her bronchoscopy yesterday and confirmed that her left bronchi is narrowed. They now have to make a decision what’s best to do for her, maybe they want to place a stent.
Rifan first wasn’t happy when I entered her room as she thought I was a doctor but her mother and some toys were able to cheer her up again and bring a smile on her face.
Rifan is still coughing a lot and doesn’t seem so well, so we pray that the doctors will soon be able to help her.
When I collected Rifan and her mother this morning at the Erez Border Crossing to Gaza, I immediately noticed Rifan’s terrible sounding cough. Her mother told me that Rifan stayed in the hospital in Gaza for a while because of the cough.
The doctor at Sheba Hospital saw in the echo that her bronchi are narrowed and that she needs a bronchoscopy. So now she is admitted to the hospital and hopefully soon the doctors can make Rifan feel better. She’s such a cute girl, but because she isn’t feeling well, she could only cry and sleep today. Her mother is happy that the doctors take it seriously, even though she would rather be back home with her family. Please pray for Rifan.
Actually, only a routine echo appointment was scheduled for today at Sheba Hospital. However, once Rifan was through with the procedure, her doctor decided to send her straight on to a pulmonologist.
For a long time, Rifan had been wheezing and there was hardly any overall improvement of this condition. The doctor determined the reason for this was pressure on the left bronchos. Other than that, he was pleased with Rifan’s current situation for now. How great that this doctor reacted so quickly and without further ado, organized an appointment with a pulmonologist on the same day.
The pulmonologist prescribed Rifan antibiotics in addition to the previous medicine. After a month, the pulmonologist wants to check Rifan’s situation again and then possibly take new steps.
It was a long and challenging day for Rifan, during which she cried again and again. The best medicine was a call from her “Baba” and having good food. Those two things calmed her down a bit. May God bless Rifan until we welcome her back to Israel in a month.
Just one day after her catheterization and Rifan is discharged from Sheba Hospital! Her mother was very happy to go home, even though she was part of a big friend-group of Gaza mothers and grandmothers at the hospital. They made her time there much better than it would have been. But now she can go back to her family with a healthier child.
‘For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, do not fear; I will help you.’
Rifan finally had a catheterization today to widen her aorta. After two hours, she was back in her room and the doctor could tell her mother the good news; she was very relieved, especially because there was a doubt if this could be fixed in a cath or that she would need surgery. Praise God a cath was enough. Rifan will now recover and the doctors will decide in the next days what the plan is. Thank you for your prayers for Rifan.
Sweet Rifan is doing so well. When I visited Rifan, she was sleeping but her mother welcomed me very warmly. Rifan is still waiting for her Cath, unfortunately there is no date set for it as yet. Please pray for patience for Rifan’s mother and for all up-coming treatments and procedures needed.
Rifan was feeling much better today. She was awake, and enjoyed jumping up and down on her bed and trying to dive out of her crib (which gave her mother and I a couple scares). She is acting like the one-year-old little girl she is, curious and friendly.
However, as time went on, she became a little cranky. Her mother told me that she was scheduled to have a cath this afternoon to begin the widening of her aorta, and wasn’t allowed to eat anything.
However, at about 2pm, the cath doctor came and told Rifan’s mother that the cath had to be delayed by a little over a week, since Rifan had a cough, and they wanted to give her some time to recover. Her mother was understandably disappointed.
We pray Rifan will recover soon to make the procedures she needs possible.
When I came to Rifan’s room at Sheba Hospital today, she seemed very well after she was under anesthesia yesterday. She obviously missed her father because she always said “Baba.” The doctor confirmed that Rifan’s health was improving after having a virus.
Yesterday, the doctors did a CT scan and found a coarctation. First they want to wait until Rifan’s condition improves. Then they will work out a treatment plan together with the cardiologists. It will probably result in catheterization or surgery.
May the Lord bless Rifan and give wisdom to the doctors in their decisions.
Today cute Rifan turned one year old in Sheba Hospital! The day didn’t bring such good news for her and her mom though as the doctors discovered in the CT that the coarctation of Rifan’s aorta is so severe, they have to do a surgery; a cath won’t be enough.
Rifan’s mom was very worried and started crying, but the nurses told us that she should not be so concerned as Rifan is doing okay right now and the surgery won’t be so dangerous.
Please pray for Rifan and her mom as they are waiting for a surgery day now.
She underwent surgery at Sheba Hospital about a year ago. According to her mother, since the operation, she has difficulty breathing, phlegm, and from time to time she is taking inhalation.
Rifan was afraid of the doctors and the tests, we tried to calm her down but it seemed that the experience was not pleasant for her and she cried. The pulmonologist prescribed Rifan several drugs for inhalation. Later, we went to the cardiologist for follow up and to check if the difficulty of breathing is following a cardiac or pulmonary cause. Rifan kept crying as she was hungry and scared. We gave her some food.
Later the doctor gave a sedative medication. The medicine made her nauseas. After sometime the doctors were able to do an echo where they detected a recurrent coarctation in her aorta and decided to hospitalize her. A catheterization to widen her aorta will probably take place on Tuesday. We hope that the doctors will find a good way to help her and that her condition will improve.
Adorable Rifan came to Sheba Hospital from Gaza today for a check-up echo. Doctors also ordered an X-Ray.
Rifan’s doing well, and her heart is doing well after the surgery she had nine months ago, when she was just one week old. However, she does have raspy breathing, so she’ll have that checked when she has her next echo.
During the wait for the X-Ray, Rifan was a little bored – until she discovered my glasses! Please pray that God will continue to bless this cute girl!
Today my Coworker Joanne and I picked up Rifan at Erez Crossing point and brought them to Sheba Medical Center. She had an Echo and an ECG today. For now she is doing pretty okay and has to come for an echo in three months. Rifan is a very cute little Girl and I really enjoyed the time with her today. Please pray for blessing and protection for this little girl.
Today coworker Lilly and I drove to the Erez border crossing point to pick up Rifan and her mother to drive them to Sheba Medical Center. We went together to Rifan’s scheduled ECG and echo.
Rifan possibly has an infection and a little bit of fluid around her heart, but it looks good so far. She is a really cute little girl and I enjoyed the time with her and her mother a lot.
After the appointment we brought them back to Gaza. We will see her in three months again for Rifan’s next check up. Please pray for Rifan and her family and that the fluid and the infection will be cleared up the next time we see her.
When I saw little Rifan in her beaming mother’s arms today, I almost couldn’t believe this is the same tiny baby who was struggling to hang on to life just three weeks ago. What a long way she’s come– today, she was discharged from Sheba hospital to go home to Gaza.
Rifan’s mom was exuding joy all day. It’s been so lovely to get to know her during these last weeks and I’m so happy to see her going home with her beautiful daughter. We’ll see Rifan again in a month when she comes back for follow-up.
Little Rifan is still in the Sheba Medical Center Pediatric ICU; it has been a long stay for her here, but through the incredible care she has received, she has been brought through very harrowing circumstances.
She has an infection in her blood, which she is being treated for, and is doing better today than she was doing over the weekend.
Little Rifan was peacefully sleeping today when I went into the Sheba Hospital Pediatric ICU. She is extubated now, which is really good and shows that she is improving.
During my visit, a nurse came into the room and told me that Rifan is doing really well overall and that her amount of medicine is getting decreased a bit. Praise the Lord. This is really good news. They also wanted to try to give her milk today via mouth rather than nasal tube, at least to begin this transition.
Rifan’s mother was smiling a lot today. It is always really interesting to see how much the happiness of the parent is dependent on the health circumstance of their child. For example, when I asked Rifan’s mother how she was doing, she said better because her beloved daughter Rifan is doing better, and that if Rifan is not doing well, then she, Rifan’s mother, is also not doing well.
Please pray for ongoing healing for baby Rifan and for peace for Rifan’s mother in every situation.
Rifan had diaphragm surgery at Sheba Children’s hospital yesterday to address the slight paralysis doctors found in the diaphragm earlier. She is better, post surgery-wise, and doing well today.
Rifan is still receiving oxygen support however, it is hoped that she will recover even more in the next days, and extubation can be attempted again.
Rifan’s mom was really sweet and also joined us later outside in the waiting area with other mothers.
Rifan was placed back on mechanical ventilation over the weekend, and her doctors saw that one side of Rifan’s diaphragm was paralyzed; today they took her into a short procedure to correct that. She will be recovering for sometime before they try extubation again. Thank you for your continued prayers for her life.
Yesterday at Sheba Medical Center Pediatric ICU, Rifan was struggling to breath on her own and needed to be reintubated as a result.
Her mother is continually hopeful for her beautiful daughter even if this is a step backwards; may Rifan have a beautiful and bright future ahead of her.
Please pray for baby Rifan to be able to be breathing without mechanical ventilation again soon.
Baby Rifan has been with her chest open since her surgery at Sheba Hospital last week.
It’s been a difficult and turbulent time since then, but she has stabilized through the weekend, and this morning the surgeons were able to close her chest.
Please pray for a good week for this sweet girl and for many more milestones to come.
When I was about to go into the Pediatric ICU of Sheba Hospital today to visit the mother of cute little Rifan, her mother came towards me. She looked a bit sad but very calm. I asked her how Rifan is doing and she told me that she is improving a bit. I was really glad to hear this news because it means that for now, it is not necessary to put her on the ECMO machine, praise the Lord.
I went into the ICU to see Rifan but I also wanted to ask a doctor if I understood her mother correctly, is Rifan really improving? The doctor reassured me that she really is improving and that the procedure she underwent yesterday did really help her.
You can barely even see tiny little Rifan on her bed in the ICU, but she’s there! Please keep praying for her to improve step by step and for her lovely mother to have ongoing strength and peace in the whole situation.
After a surgery at Sheba Children’s Hospital yesterday to investigate why her blood pressure is so low, Rifan’s doctors were still unsure as to why she was so unstable. She is in a very fragile condition, and the doctors are doing everything they can for her.
Then today, Rifan went into another surgery because she was still not stable. They were able to change the patch that is on the hole between the left and the right ventricle. But still her blood pressure was and is yet unstable.
Please pray for Rifan. If there are no more options, they will put her on the ECMO machine. Also please pray for her mother and the rest of the family. May God’s healing hand be on Rifan.
After a CT scan today, doctors at Sheba Children’s decided to bring Rifan into the OR once again to investigate why her blood pressure was so low despite so much support.
They were also prepared that Rifan may have to come out of surgery on the ECMO machine. The operation took about two hours, and when she was brought out, it was a relief to see she was not on the ECMO machine. She was stable after surgery and now, tonight, the staff will see how Rifan does after the operation.
Little Rifan had surgery at Sheba Children’s hospital this morning to correct coarctation of the aorta and a VSD.
The surgeon explained to me and my coworker Sabrina, that Rifan initially did well on the bypass machine during the operation, but then her blood pressure began to drop and her condition deteriorated.
She is currently unstable, and the doctors are deciding whether to put her on the ECMO machine. We’re trusting in God and his love for this little girl.
Rifan is in the hospital now for two days and he is stable enough to have surgery tomorrow. The surgeons decided on a surgery plan today and they explained it all to the mother.
We ask for your prayers for tomorrow. That Gods healing hand is on this child.
I got to know the mother a little today, she is very kind. We bless this mother in this difficult time.
In the last few hours, we’ve learned of a six-day-old girl named Rifan with a narrowed aorta, whom doctors are keeping alive with mechanical ventilation and prostaglandin in Gaza.
Israel’s largest hospital, the Sheba Medical Center, has already agreed to accept her tomorrow, despite the Sabbath, and we are working now on her transfer papers.
Beautiful little Rifan arrived to Sheba Hospital from Gaza today for a check-up in the Pulmonary Clinic. For a long time following her heart surgery in 2021, she had a chronic cough and difficulty breathing. However, she finally seems to be doing better, and if her next check-up with the pulmonologist is okay, she can continue follow up for this issue only in Gaza.
