Yesterday around 12 am, coworker Petra came to us and told us that something was wrong with Mohammed. We were shocked and immediately followed Petra to Mohammed’s room in our guesthouse in Jerusalem. There he sat on the couch, in a warm jacket, right in front of the heater which was on the highest level, and still he was shivering very hard.
We took his temperature and every vital we could, only his blood pressure was higher than it should be, everything else seemed fine. We tried to consider what was the best for him, maybe to take him to the ER and make sure everything is fine, or would everything be resolved in five minutes? And, indeed, five minutes later, he told Petra that everything was okay, and his vitals confirmed that.
But at that time, Jonathan was already on his way to the guesthouse. With the other mothers as translators, we had a small conference around the dinner table, explaining what exactly happened to Mohammed and how he was feeling right now. Mohammed said he was probably shivering because he still had wet hair from taking a shower, so he doesn’t have to go to the ER. We promised to keep a close eye on him and to check his temperature and vitals every 1-2 hours.
When we took his temperature in the afternoon, it was just a bit elevated, but only half an hour later, it was 39.3°C (102,7°F), higher than before. That was also the time when his mother told us he had to throw up the last night, so we made the decision to bring him to the ER as fast as possible. It just took us half an hour by taxi to reach Hadassah Hospital. We entered the ER and talked to doctors earlier than we thought possible. We secured Mohammed’s X-Ray very quickly as well as a short Echo to check on his heart. After some time, doctors seemed to have more urgent patients and let us wait for hours.
Now and again a nurse came to take some samples, mostly blood samples. Unfortunately Mohammed didn’t like that at all, he was very exhausted from enduring the blood sampling over and over again. At least he and his mother got a bed and a couch and could get some sleep between all the tests.
After several hours in the ER, the doctors let us know that there was no room in the hospital proper until the next morning, so although Mohammed and his mother were admitted to the hospital, they stayed in the ER for the night. We had to go home, but we promised them to visit again next day. And that’s what coworker Luisa did today.
Unfortunately, we found Mohammed and his mother still in the same room in the ER when we came to see them today. Luckily Luisa met another German volunteer who is working in the ER and promised to call Luisa as soon as there was news about Mohammed. Also another nurse told Luisa that the doctors will already start with some treatment and try to find out what’s causing the Mohammed’s fever.
We are very thankful for the staff in Hadassah’s ER. They’re trying their best to help Mohammed. He is really not feeling well and hates being in the hospital. Please, Lord, give him and his mother strength for the following days in the hospital and let the doctors find out what is wrong. You can see how hard it is for this young man and his mother to be in the hospital, so please find a way to show them that you are the one we can rely on and the one in whom we can find hope and patience!