The new week began with meeting Mohammed in the secondary pediatric ICU at Sheba hospital. Last Sunday, the surgeon closed his chest, and one week later, he has improved enough to be in the intermediate ward.
For co-workers Georgia, Sabrina, and I, this is shocking in the best way, given the recent death of a baby who was similar to Mohammed in age and diagnosis.
Mohammed’s mum is struggling with the period of restlessness common to, at least the few we know, infants who come off of the ECMO. At one point, she asked if there was medicine to make him sleep and I said that sleeping is the opposite of what we want. Slowly they are decreasing the medicine, and certainly after the past month where Mohammed was mostly sedated and going through multiple major heart surgeries, he will need a lot of rehabilitation. It will be like learning things for the first time again, like how to drink from a bottle.
Please keep this lovely boy in your prayers. Praise God for his life and his recovery.