Early this morning, I found Niyan in the ICU at Sheba, wide awake and smiling big as always. One by one, nurses and doctors began to arrive to get her ready to go to surgery.
As each one arrived and greeted her, she got to practice her Arabic, English, and Hebrew, and even taught one of the nurses to say good morning in Kurdish. She also tried to teach me and the assisting surgeon to say good luck in Kurdish, but neither of us could say it quite right!
Once Niyan went into surgery, her father, coworker Zack, and I waited for five and a half hours until the head surgeon emerged from the OR to share his report. The surgery was successful and the doctors were able to place a new shunt and reroute two of Niyan’s collateral arteries to allow blood flow to the lungs on the right side of her body. If she recovers well over on the weekend, she will have another surgery next week to reroute the collateral arteries on the left side of her body.
Niyan’s father was visibly relieved to get the good news, but is already a little nervous for the next surgery. Please pray for a good recovery for Niyan and rest for her dad.