Today was a long day for Ahmed and his grandma – even more than usual for a day at the hospital. We arrived at the Erez border expecting to take two children for follow-up echos after their surgeries, but only found Ahmed. A twenty minute wait for baby Omar turned into a two hour wait. Sitting there in the car with Ahmed and his grandma, I expected her to become frustrated and annoyed, but she waited with an incredible patience. Looking back, it was really nice to spend this time with her. We talked a little bit about her family and I quickly discovered she has a great sense of humour. We compared passports and laughed at our photos.
Just as we had left for Sheba without Omar, we had a call that he had arrived and had to turn back. Even after this, Ahmed’s grandma remained patient, and was delighted to find Omar’s grandma was a friend of hers. Both babies were lovingly bundled up for the winter:
Later, as we waited in the hospital, she seemed much more restless, constantly asking where the doctor was. Everytime a nurse walked by, she asked hopefully “Is this the doctor?” Despite only being a 30 minute wait, this must have seemed so much harder than our hold-up at the border. Our attitude to waiting and our perspective on it can change the entire atmosphere of a situation.
The Echo went well. Ahmed only started crying later on the process, but his tears were barely recognisable due to his constant wheezing. For the first time during an echo, I saw the valve moving. The heart was pumping very fast and it was beautiful to see it.
On the way home, the grandmas tried out some English phrases on me and Jana like “good morning”. Finally, as we neared the border again on the way home, she was so happy to be back she whooped with excitement – it made all of us laugh.
I think I could sum up Ahmed’s day in three words; “waiting, laughter and love”. All of these are used by God throughout the bible, and throughout our lives today.
Jana contributed to this blog