Montaser was sound asleep this morning when coworker Jonathan and I entered his room in the Pediatric ICU of Sheba Hospital. All was very quiet there. No medical staff had arrived yet to take him to the OR and he was resting up after having gone to bed at 1:00 a.m. on the eve of his surgery day.
His mother was thoughtful and quiet as she anticipated what the morning would bring. Shortly after this moment, a nurse came to take his temperature, his blood pressure and to wake him up firmly. Just a few minutes later, a team came in and rolled him off to the OR.
We spent the morning and afternoon waiting with his parents. We sipped tea and coffee and had a meal together with them in the waiting area. The time went by quickly.
A mere five and a half hours later, the operating staff was seen rolling Montaser’s bed back into the ICU:
We were greeted by the surgeon.
He explained that Montaser is stable after his surgery. Doctors are trying to recreate a pulmonary artery after damage done by an earlier surgery. It will take 6-12 months of growth to see if they succeeded. If so, they would like to do another surgery at that time to build on what was established today.
His parents are drained but thankful.