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In February of 2024, the Shevet Achim community met a little boy from Bethlehem named Montaser. Due to his extremely complex heart, he needed to come into Israel to receive advanced medical care.
Through many visits, hospital stays, and appointments, countless people in our community have come to know and deeply love precious Montaser and his family. |
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| Though small and frail, he was a child filled with an abundance of joy, laughter, and a fair share of mischievousness too.
On August 25th, Montaser, accompanied by his father and mother, came again to Sheba Medical Center for a catheterization to improve the circulation between his heart and his lungs. |
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| The initial plan was for Montaser to go home after his catheterization, and then come back several days later for his next open-heart surgery. But after the cath Montaser’s oxygen levels began to steadily decrease. He was put on oxygen in hopes that his low numbers would improve with a little bit of time and patience. But as each day progressed, the oxygen assistance needed to be increased.
Even though these days were difficult, Montaser was happy and comfortable as his parents faithfully tended to every need. Witnessing their love for their child was truly unexplainable and breathtaking. |
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| As the days passed there was much discussion about whether to go ahead with the surgery as planned, do another catheterization, or to just keep waiting and let time tell. Eventually doctors narrowed it down to two options— both of which were difficult and carried their own implications. The first option was for Montaser to go home, and live on oxygen for the rest of his life. If they chose this, he would likely have a poor quality of life as he would be confined to his bed most of the time.
The second option the doctors presented was an extremely risky operation. They would attempt to place a shunt between his right ventricle and right lung in hopes that this would allow oxygen to be more quickly absorbed. If successful, he could live an energetic life like other little boys. But the risk of the operation was also profound with his already low oxygen levels.
The parents had to make the agonizing decision. In the end, they decided that surgery was the best option. They understood the risks, but clung to hope that if this was successful, Montaser could live a long and happy life. Understandably, they were also greatly worried as they knew their son was fragile and that this surgery could prove too much for his tiny body. Even so, with hearts full of love and longing to see their son well, they went forward with their decision. |
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| Thursday morning Montaser went in for his big surgery. With all the strength and hope they could muster, his parents gave him into the hands of God. The surgeon shared that the surgery was going to last at least six hours. For the first five hours, his parents were happily chatting with us, each other, and a number of other Muslim families also with children in the ICU.
At hour six the parents were readily awaiting any news of their son. After waiting a little while longer, Abu Montaser desperately searched out information, and discovered that Montaser would need at least two more hours in the OR.
The waiting continued until the surgeon finally emerged to speak with Montaser’s worried parents. He shared that the surgery itself was completed, but because Montaser was already so weak going into the operation, he was now exceedingly sick. His chest was left open in case further intervention was needed, and he was intubated. The situation was difficult but the doctors were all working hard to preserve Montaser’s life.
The surgeon went back to the OR to finish everything up before wheeling Montaser to his room in the ICU. Just as quickly as he went away, he returned with more news. Coworker Caroline and I still do not know just what he said as neither of us speak Hebrew or Arabic, but we watched the parents’ faces quickly change into great worry. We later discovered that this was when the surgeon told them that Montaser was receiving the maximum amount of care, and that if anything were to decline, there would be no further intervention possible.
At this news, the situation quickly worsened as Montaser’s loving father unexpectedly collapsed. He passed out and went into shock after hearing how critical the situation was. A number of doctors and nurses quickly rushed to him, and soon we had him on a stretcher on the way to the ER. Coworker Caroline stayed in the ICU waiting for news about Montaser, while I accompanied Montaser’s distraught mother alongside his father to the ER.
While the father stayed in the ER recovering, the mother and I returned to the ICU. Kind Dr. Evyatar and a nurse ushered Montaser’s mother into a conference room where they carefully explained that Montaser was stable, but very sick. They explained that Montaser’s heart was an anatomical anomaly and that most hospitals around the world wouldn’t even dare to try an operation. We are so grateful for the efforts that the doctors and nurses at Sheba put into preserving this young boy’s life, regardless of the challenge that it presented. |
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| Caroline and I headed back to Lod after we had covered Montaser’s room in prayer. Just as we were going to bed, I received a text from Montaser’s mother that her son had worsened. We rushed back to the hospital to be with their family. Apparently due to the low oxygen, Montaser had suffered a seizure.
Montaser’s mother was incredibly strong throughout this whole process. From waiting all day during the surgery, to her husband collapsing, and to seeing her son in such a critical condition but being powerless to do anything but pray— she remained steadfast and strong. |
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| Unsure of what the night would hold, Caroline and I decided to spend the night in the hospital with the family to support them as needs arose. We were most graciously provided with two beds in the secondary ICU, and soon Montaser’s family went to bed and so did we. All night we dozed and awaited any news. Soon it was 5 am and Montaser had made it through the night with no major issues. After confirming the situation was stable, we returned to Lod as his parents were both continuing to rest.
There was no news of Montaser, and at 1 pm we returned to the hospital to pick up another family to bring them home to Bethlehem. Before doing so, we checked on Montaser and his family. While still stable, he was slowly deteriorating as his oxygen was then in the low 20s. But we continued to pray for a miracle as Montaser was still alive. Countless people around the world have been lifting up Montaser in prayer and committing him into the hands of the Lord.
Just before Shabbat began here in the land, we received a text and a phone call from the hospital. Montaser went to be with the Lord. His body went into cardiac arrest as everything was too much for him to handle.
This loss is deeply devastating for so many who knew and loved this young boy. Even more so, the grief of this family is unimaginable. I have never seen such deep love for a child as this entire family has shown time and time again. Montaser is tremendously loved, and our hearts break for his family. Please join us in surrounding them in prayer as they walk through this inconceivably difficult time of loss.
It’s in times like these our hearts ask: why Lord? Why take this precious child whom you have created from a family who deeply loves him?
Dear friends, as humans I am not sure we can ever quite come to understand the ways of the Lord. But we know that His ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55). As much as our hearts break and we mourn the loss of this child, we also have a wonderful confidence that the Lord is indeed working.
At the beginning of this week, not knowing what was to come, the Lord laid a specific verse on my heart that I feel led to share. Psalm 20:7 says, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.” I know I far too often place my trust in physical things that give a sense of control over a situation. Especially in the medical world, it is easy to put all our trust in human power and medical machines. But we must learn to look past these. While they are all wonderful tools that should be utilized, we must more readily look towards the One who provides these things, and realize He is the One in control of all of it. May the Lord use the loss of Montaser to radically turn the hearts of those affected towards Him. His plan is perfect, and we will continue to trust in Him.
We also trusted Him this week with the life of young Anas, who only last week seemed to be on the cusp of death. After his heart surgery almost three weeks ago, Anas lost both kidney and liver function, and his heart was not circulating blood through his entire body. His hands and feet swelled and turned a deep purple color. If circulation did not rise, doctors warned that he would lose his hands and his feet.
Yet we entrusted Him to the Lord, and Anas is being healed more and more each day. His hands and feet are slowly regaining more color each day, and his liver and kidneys are in process of working once more. |
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| We may ask, why is Anas allowed to live while Montaser has died? Still we can only trust the Lord. He is writing a beautiful story that is not yet complete. But as He has promised, it will work together for the good of His children.
Then there was Dareen, a 10-year-old girl from Hebron who came to Sheba Medical Center for a catheterization on Monday. Over the past few weeks we have come to know and love her and her mother. |
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| As we were sitting with her mother during the procedure and the hours began to tick by with no news, we recognized that something was wrong. When the catheterization doctor came out, Dareen’s mother desperately listened to what the doctor had to say. While ballooning an artery, bleeding started. The doctors were working hard to stop this bleeding, but due to it Dareen came out still on a ventilator. All her previous catheterizations had gone smoothly, so her mother was visibly shocked and very upset over this news.
As soon as Dareen emerged from the OR, her mother rushed to be with her. Many people once more prayed over this situation, and we left not knowing what we would find the next day.
Upon walking into the ICU the following morning, we saw that Dareen’s bed was empty. Immediately my mind started asking questions— was this sweet girl ok? Had she gone back into the operating room? As we investigated, we soon saw her mother at the side of the room smiling and beckoning for us to come in. A few moments later, Dareen emerged from behind a corner awake, smiling and dressed in her own clothes! |
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