When we entered the family house this morning in Ashdod to collect Liya, we found her sleeping on the couch in a beautiful dress! We were really looking forward to the rest of the day, for she was very happy and excited.
Upon arriving in Sheba Hospital, a blood test was ordered for Liya. Her arteries were so small, the nurses needed six tries. She cried so much that after the test, she was very exhausted and tired. The echo and ECG went very well, but until we could talk to her doctor, we had to wait for a long time with Liya. We sat in the waiting area with some other families and chatted a little, Liya’s mother went to the supermarket once ,and we walked again and again with Liya in the stroller.
When we could finally talk with the doctor, he was very nice and friendly, although it was already very late. He told us that for now, everything is okay, but Liya should return to hospital in November for a check-up echo. After that, they will decide when exactly her cath and a surgery will take place.
When we went out of the hospital, we already knew that we wouldn’t make it to the Erez border crossing before its closing hour of seven pm, and even though we were an hour late in getting to the crossing, the crossing guardian was very kind and allowed Liya and her mother through the border and even helped us with getting everything through the gate.
We thank God for this day with Liya and her mother, and for getting us all through everything that needed getting through, and for the kindness that everyone we met had shown us. We pray for Liya’s next echo to go well, and for the doctors and medical staff at Sheba.
This morning some machines that our little Liya needed to go home with, arrived at Sheba hospital. She needs an oxygen machine and suction machine as she still has a tracheostomy and her parents also have to be able to measure her oxygen.
It took a long time until we organized all the medicine, milk and other things that our little girl needs to stay safe at home, but once everything was figured out, her mom was thrilled to finally go home! After nearly eight weeks in the hospital, I can understand her mother very well.
We will miss Liya’s mom very much during our daily visits in the hospital, as she cared always so wonderfully for us, but I’m so happy for her that she can go home. And at the same time, I’m so amazed and thankful for how well Liya is doing. I still remember very well a conversation with her doctor a couple months back when Liya just arrived for the first time at Sheba. The doctor siad she didn’t know if Liya will survive the next days, but that they will do everything for her that they can and that it is in God’s hands. And yes, Liya was and is in his hands.
Thank you God for healing Liya and for protecting her so far. Please keep her safe and bless her whole family!
When we walked into the ICU this morning, we were surprised to see Liya’s room empty. Her mother met us a few minutes later and eagerly waved us toward the secondary ICU, where Liya was enjoying a nap in the peace and quiet of a private room.
Liya’s mom was proud to tell me that Liya has been breathing all on her own for a week now, and doesn’t need the ventilator even at night! This is a huge step for our tiny girl.
If Liya continues to grow stronger, she may go home very soon– “God willing tomorrow!” her mom keeps saying with a hopeful smile. Liya’s dad works in Israel so he can come visit often, but Liya’s mother is looking forward to the day when they will all three go home together to the rest of their family in Gaza.
Today we visited Liya at Sheba Medical Center and spent some time with this beautiful little girl. While we were with her, the nurses suctioned her tracheostomy and it was impressive how well Liya behaved during this though it is very uncomfortable for her. The Physiotherapist showed us some positions with which to hold Liya that will help to strengthen her neck.
Afterwards we were able to feed her and were surprised on how much she improved. Also we could see that Liya can follow sounds with her eye movements which is a very good sign regarding her cognitive abilities.
She is such a sweet girl. We pray for her further recovery and that she will improve day by day.
When visiting Liya today at Sheba Hospital, I had the opportunity to feed her. I was very impressed by how well she was drinking. Praise God for the progress she is making. She still breathes through her tracheostomy and has to be on the ventilator at night.
I also was very impressed today by Liya’s mom. Because of the tracheostomy Liya has, she isn’t able to cough up mucus. That’s why the mucus has to be suctioned a few times a day. Liya’s mom was instructed to do it on her own, because Liya will be discharged with the tracheostomy, God willing. Watching her while she did it, was so impressive for me, because she did it with so much professionalism and calm.
After the whole process I tried to tell Liya’s mother my impression via translator. She was very happy and grateful about the compliment. So, I want to encourage you to tell your neighbors what they do well – words of affirmation have power!
Be also invited to keep praying for Liya, for a further improvement of her condition.
I was pleasantly surprised today to see little Liya in her stroller with her sweet mother, in Sheba Hospital’s waiting room. I’ve never seen Liya outside of her ICU room before. Even though she’s still on oxygen at night, and she has a bit of a fever, it was very encouraging to see her outside of her room.
Please pray that she will recover from her fever and continue to improve.
Today at Sheba Hospital I found her mum feeding her with milk from the bottle. You could see that Liya is not used to drinking on her own anymore and she needs to learn again how to suck properly.
But her beautiful mother was cheering her on all the time and she slowly finished her 25 ml of milk. It was so nice to see how proud Liya’s mother was of her daughter.
Let’s continue in prayer for this beautiful family and for Liya’s complete recovery.
Liya has been receiving physiotherapy at Sheba Medical Center Children’s Hospital. The doctors wanted to make sure her development is normal according to her age.
Our beautiful Liya has been disconnecting from oxygen support for periods of time, and sometimes when it is not enough with oxygen assistance alone, some medication was administered to help her.
The physiotherapist recommended some bands be placed around Liya’s hands to help her become accustomed to having her fingers opened more, which helps with mobilization. Also Liya’s doctors want to remove the feeding tube, and to try slowly starting Liya on drinking milk again.
As soon as I walked into the ICU this morning, Liya’s mother was waving me into her room with a huge smile. “Look!” she said proudly. “She’s been off the ventilator all morning!”
Sure enough, Liya was sleeping peacefully and breathing on her own without the ventilator! By the time I arrived, she had been four hours without oxygen support and her saturations were still pretty good.
With the Gaza border closed due to tensions between Gaza and Israel, it’s a difficult time for Liya’s family. Both her parents are in Israel, while their older children are staying with relatives back home. Even so, Liya’s mother told me today that it’s okay, she will stay here until she’s sure Liya is strong enough to go home.
Today was an amazing surprise at Sheba Hospital when we found our beautiful Liya disconnected from the oxygen support.
The doctor was very hopeful about Liya’s progress. He said he thinks she can be discharged in a few weeks if she continues improving. At the time of this report, Liya had been disconnected for one hour and a half.
The doctors don’t want to push her too much however, so depending on her progress, they plan to discharge her to Gaza or to our community home in Ashdod, but they want to wait until they have more time with Liya disconnected from oxygen support to take the best decision in her case.
Our little Liya is slowly getting better and gaining strength. Everyday at Sheba Children’s Hospital, she gets disconnected from the ventilator for a while so that she learns more and more how to breath on her own again.
For Liya’s mother, it is still very hard to see her beloved daughter with the tracheostomy and she started crying a little bit when we visited her today.
God I pray for little Liya and her amazing mother, that you bless them both and give them strength!
How good to find both mother and father by Liya’s bedside today! The father is working night shifts at a bakery in Israel and was able to get away to see his daughter firsthand today.
Liya seems to be doing much better now with her tracheostomy, and I shared with them the story of baby Abed, who went home to Gaza with a tracheostomy and now has grown and strengthened to the point that he may soon have it removed.
Liya’s parents seem caring, committed and highly motivated to care for her. As we visited today they had a bluetooth speaker on her bed playing soothing music.
Let’s continue to give them all our support through prayer and visiting.
When I talked with the doctor at Sheba Hospital about Liya today, he was very happy. Her fever is gone and the x-ray he had ordered for her, was better than any he’s seen. They are also taking Liya sometimes off the ventilator for a period of time and she is doing great breathing on her own for a while.
Her mother brings so much joy into all of our days in the hospital. She is joking with us, always trying to teach me some new Arabic words and likes to give us food. Thank you Lord that Liya is doing so much better today! Please bless her and her wonderful mother!
Our beautiful Liya had a successful tracheostomy at Sheba Hospital and she is stable.
After the procedure, Liya still needed oxygen support through the tube. Because the procedure involves opening the neck to place a tube, Liya is having some pain even when the nurse suctioned the tube to clear the airway of secretions. She cried during this, and still needs to become accustomed to the tube.
Today the sirens sounded on floor 4 at Sheba, just two minutes after the doctor wanted to talk with Liya’s mom.
At the beginning, it was a disconcerting moment, when they had to isolated the ICU, and at the same time a few doctors were in Liya’s room and also the doctor asked me to look for Liya’s mom.
After fifteen minutes in the waiting room, two doctors came and explained with a lot of details and answers to all of Liya’s parent’s questions about the options to help Liya’s breathing. The parents accepted the best plan which was a tracheotomy for Liya. They were waiting for this process to end, which it eventually did.
Liya still needs a lot of prayers, so please continue to pray for her.
Today brought not so good news for our little Liya recovering in Sheba Hospital. After being extubated yesterday, she failed and had to be reintubated. As this was the second time of an unsuccessful extubation, the doctors are now thinking about a tracheostomy.
They discussed this with Liya’s mother today and if she agrees, they will probably do her tracheostomy in the next few days. For her mother, this was quite frustrating news and she was crying for a while.
Lord I pray that you help this little girl to get better. Thank you that you have a perfect plan for her and that she is still alive!
“She’s a fighter,” were the doctor’s words in reference to Liya who was successfully extubated today.
Liya’s mother was allowed to attend her daughter to Sheba Hospital instead of Liya’s grandma, who was in attendance for quite a while. Both ladies were happy to switch places. Liya’s mother was relieved to find her daughter extubated today.
Liya has been struggling to come through this, and finally did. I was a little nervous when Liya started coughing today, but the doctor told me that in this case, coughing was a good sound for Liya because it means she is fighting for her lungs to become stronger.
When I visited our little Liya in Sheba Hospital this morning, her doctor told me that they planned to extubate her today. But because she still has trouble breathing even with the ventilator, they are not sure if they can do it. Her hemoglobin is very low which is most likely related to her breathing problems. She is receiving blood to solve this problem and depending on how she will improve during the day, they may still attempt to extubate her.
Please pray for this little girl and her lovely grandmother who is very worried!
Our last blog on little Liya, who was finally well enough to have her second surgery on Sunday morning, after her emergency return from Gaza on a ventilator.
From the photos, one might not know that Liya’s doctors are actually pleased and optimistic about the outcome of the operation and hope to wean her from the ventilator in the coming days.
Liya’s grandmother is a ray of sunshine in the ICU and takes good care of the other moms and grandmothers. Please remember both this loving grandmother and little Liya in your prayers for her complete recovery.
Liya has survived the critical 24 hours post-surgery. Doctors are carefully and diligently tending to her, pleased with the results of the surgery and hopeful for her recovery.
Sitting in the ICU with her grandmother, we discussed the importance of prayer in the healing process. She was eager to hear that our staff pray morning and night for the children in our care. She tilted her phone toward me to show a photo of Liya taken days before her surgery, with her bright, beautiful eyes looking up to her parents. She is waiting patiently for her granddaughter’s healing.
Please pray Liya continues in this stable trajectory!
Liya was finally well enough to go in for her second surgery this morning, and when we saw her this afternoon in the ICU her doctors were gathered and enthusiastically discussing the outcome. They believe they succeeded to reroute the circulation through her complicated heart in such a way that will allow her now to grow and thrive. We thank God for bringing little Liya through so much, including the perilous hospitalization in Gaza and return in ICU ambulance, in order to see this day. Let’s keep praying for her over the next critical 24 hours.
Liya is doing better today! The virus she was dealing with seems to be gone, so she is not receiving antibiotics anymore.
At Sheba Hospital today, she will slowly wake up and then she will be extubated. If this all goes well, she will have her surgery soon. So we ask for your prayer for Liya, specifically that the surgery will happen soon, so her health can improve.
After Liya recently left Sheba hospital to go back to Gaza, her situation deteriorated. She went back on the ventilator in an ICU in Gaza. She also suffered from sepsis.
After she stabilized a little bit, she was transferred by ambulance back to Sheba Hospital. Liya will have her next heart surgery soon, but right now she has a fever. When she is stable, she will go into surgery.
Liya was supposed to have her surgery today but she had a temperature so it was canceled. Now it is just a matter of time, but first her temperature needs to diminish. Liya’s mother is still waiting for results of additional tests the doctors made for her.
It was very nice to see Liya today, to see her smile. She looks a beautiful as always and was smiling again. I really appreciated that Liya’s mother allowed me to feed Liya. I loved doing that.
Pray for our beautiful Liya, with the help of God she will have a surgery soon.
Our beautiful Liya came to Sheba Hospital to have a CT scan and was unexpectedly admitted to the ICU.
Liya crossed the Erez border yesterday and this morning she had a CT scan. When the procedure ended, we talked with the cardiologist about the next steps in Liya’s treatment. Liya’s parents want to have a vacation time with all the family before Liya’s next surgery which they expect to be in a few months.
The cardiologist ordered an echo, an electrocardiogram and a routine test for Liya. The results of these exams and a fever rush with vomiting, all pointed to the fact that Liya needed to remain hospitalized. There will be more tests and possibly a surgery on Sunday. Pray for strength for Liya and her parents, they’re worried and surprised about Liya’s health.
Today my Coworker Joanne and I picked up little Liya at Erez crossing point and brought them to Sheba Medical Center. She had an ECG and an Echo today. Her heart is not doing well and she has a lot of different problems. The doctor told me that Liya will have to come back in one month and until then the doctor will present her case to all the other doctors and they will decide the next steps of treatment. The doctor said that there is the possibility that they can’t do anything else for her. So please pray for this little girl and her family. Bless them and pray for wisdom for the doctors.
Beautiful little Liya really got discharged today! We couldn’t believe it, but finally we sat together in the car on our way to Gaza.
Liya had a surgery to place a band around one artery in her time at Sheba and first struggled a little bit by breathing on her own. But after that she improved pretty fast and also learned fast how to eat through her mouth. Due to this she was able to be discharged.
Her grandmother was very happy and kept saying “Thank you, thank you.” Also all the other grandmothers were at the car to wave goodbye. In one month, beautiful Liya will come back for a follow up appointment.
We can thank the Lord for what he already did in Liya’s life and ask that he will keep her safe until her next surgery when she’s older.
When I visited little Liya at Sheba Medical Center this morning the doctor told me that Liya would be ready to go home. She will still stay in the hospital till Sunday, because the Erez Crossing point is closed right now.
We’re all very happy and surprised that she recovered so fast and so well. Please pray and bless her and her lovely grandmother.
When I visited little Liya today at Sheba Hospital, she was moved again back to the ICU because she developed a fever over the weekend. She was awake when I entered the room and I could hear that she was breathing fast and was in some distress. Last week doctors made some tests and found that Liya has some bacteria and was put on a course of antibiotics right away.
Also Liya has been experiencing problems with eating. This morning a specialist visited her and found that Liya is not taking from a bottle very well. For now, doctors are trying to feed her via mouth as much as possible, then give her the rest through a tube. But as she has also problems with breathing, there is some concern that Liya aspirates her milk when they are feeding her. Liya is still extubated and receives some inhalation to improve her breathing.
Liya’s grandma is staying faithfully by her side even though it has to be very exhausting for her. Let us thank God that Liya is doing fairly well despite all of this and pray for her healing!
Today, coworkers Lilly, Frank and I found Liya and her grandmother in the Secondary Pediatric ICU of Sheba Medical Center. Liya is doing very well, although she has some bacteria in her blood.
The good news is that she does not need oxygen support anymore and they already started feeding her not only with the NG Tube, but also through her mouth.
Liya’s grandmother is very thankful for her progress. Thank you for your prayers. We can continue to pray for Liya and her full recovery.
Today coworker Frank and I visited little Liya and her grandmother at Sheba Hospital.
The doctors told us that Liya is finally extubated since yesterday, but she still requires oxygen support. Also, she is getting her food through an NG Tube.
This morning, Liya had a fever, so they did a blood test and started a course of antibiotics for Liya. So hopefully she is doing better soon.
We spent a really good time together and her grandmother was very thankful and happy that we visited her and took the time for them. So please pray for them, especially for Liya, that her fever abates.
When Liya’s grandmother met me and Jonathan at the door of the ICU this afternoon, she eagerly beckoned us to come see Liya. Liya is stable right now, but yesterday she had several episodes of oxygen desaturation and needed increased medication. The doctors think this was caused by pulmonary hypertension and they hope to begin decreasing her medication soon.
A nurse in the ICU explained Liya’s situation to us, and while it is serious, there is definitely hope for her. Please pray for God’s healing for precious Liya.
Today coworker Willem and I visited little Liya and her aunt in Sheba Hospital.
The doctor said that they tried yesterday to extubate her, but it failed. So Liya is again intubated and they are searching now for the reasons why extubation is not working and are trying to solve the problem. However, Liya is stable and for this we’re thankful.
We had a nice time with Liya’s aunt and talked with her a while. Please pray for her, her family, and that the doctors can find and solve the problem with Liya’s extubation difficulty quickly.
Today I visited little Liya at Sheba Hospital’s Pediatric ICU for the first time. Her grandma is really kind and was happy that someone came to spend time with her. The doctor told us that they plan to extubate Liya today. They want to wait first until she is waking up but she is taking her time.
The band doctors placed around one of her arteries in the surgery yesterday, is for now to pretend that too much blood is coming to the lungs. Her heart is very complicated so she will need further surgeries in her life if she survives until then. The doctor was very honest to us and told us that Liya’s condition is very serious.
Her grandma was hopeful however today, and that’s what we are too. God loves this child and so we will never give up hope. Thank you for praying for little Liya. May God protect and bless her!
Liya went into her first surgery at Sheba today. I sat with her grandmother for a while, who seemed relaxed under the circumstances. When we came to the room to see Liya after the surgery, I could see the emotions coming out of her grandmother. Like a relief.
Liya’s surgery went well. They didn’t fix her problems, but they placed a band on one of her arteries.
Please pray for Liya’s condition and that she will recover well so she can get ready for a bigger surgery.
Week old Liya arrived yesterday evening in Sheba Hospital via ambulance from Gaza. She is an emergency baby with a heart problem that is too difficult to treat there.
Today the doctors and nurses did a lot of tests on her, including an echo, x-ray, CT-scan, MRI, etc. Hopefully soon, doctors can decide how to treat Liya’s heart.
Liya’s grandmother came with her. She was very nervous today, asking the doctors and nurses what they are going to do with Liya. Hopefully in the next days she will get an answer.
Pray for Liya. And pray for her grandmother who is caring a lot for her granddaughter. God protect this fragile girl.
When we entered the family house this morning in Ashdod to collect Liya, we found her sleeping on the couch in a beautiful dress! We were really looking forward to the rest of the day, for she was very happy and excited.
