Coworker Beth and I arrived early at Sheba Hospital hoping to catch Ali before his long-awaited open-heart surgery, but we missed him by a couple of minutes; disappointing because we wanted to see his handsome, smiley face and pray him off into theatre.
We got to sit with Ali’s parents and wait out the four-hour surgery with them. They seemed quietly calm. We shared ‘Ali photos’ with them, drank coffee, took short walks and prayed for him, while awaiting any updates.
The surgeon appeared much sooner than expected and warmly gave Ali’s parents the excellent news of a successful surgery. Forty minutes later, Ali was wheeled into his ICU room where the doctors and nurses worked to settle him into his new environment.