Today Sila came back after her surgery last month. Sila’s mother was so happy to see us.
She gave all the volunteers a hug and took selfies.
Sila is doing good, she is growing well. Her mother is so proud of her daughter. She keeps saying, ‘She is beautiful right?’
Sila has a small leakage in one of her valves. She needs to come back in three months and then they will decide if she needs more surgeries or catheterizations.
Keep Sila in your prayers and also her lovely mother.
Last week, when I first met Sila, she and her mom grew close to my heart. Her mother sent me pictures over the weekend and told me that Sila was doing really well after her surgery at Sheba Hospital, but it was a big surprise when I heard today that she will be discharged!
At first I thought the doctors were talking about a discharge in a few days, but her overjoyed mother told me she can go home today. It was such a pleasant surprise to see her mother so happy and seeing that Sila is doing so well. Throughout the day I witnessed the joy of a whole family over their youngest member, now healthy and they can now be reunited. During their time here, the doctors really liked Sila and her mom because she was recovering so well and her mom took really good care of her. After some last tests, I was able to bring Sila to Erez Border Crossing, where we said goodbye until her echo in four weeks.
Thank God for what he did the last few days in Sila‘s life, and that he blessed her with so much strength and healing. Pray for her family and the time that is coming that they will have the endurance to care for her and that she will grow into a wonderful little girl.
What a joy! Today I got to meet Sila and her mother. A week ago, she had her surgery at Sheba Hospital and recovered well afterwards.
As I walked into her room in the Pediatric ICU today, her mother and a very dedicated nurse were trying to teach Sila how to drink from a bottle. The nurse kept getting new mouthpieces to find the ideal one for Sila. Her mother, who is a physiotherapist in Gaza, explained to me that she wanted to train Sila to drink with small massages. How good that Sila’s mother is so well qualified!
If the difficulty with drinking continues, Sila may need a sonde. Basically, Sila is doing well after the surgery and God willing she can soon be transferred to the secondary ICU. We are grateful for each of your prayers for Sila!
Today I talked with the doctor and nurses about the postoperative progress of Sila. Last post-op echocardiography revealed no more narrowing of her Aorta anymore. What good news!
However, Sila’s SpO2 showed only 93%, so I asked why. The doctor said, her left ventricle (LV) is not strong enough because there was the huge burden of pressure traveling to it before surgery. Now the burden of CoA (Coarctation of Aorta) is gone, so the LV is free of burden and is now gaining its strength. To help LV, infusion of medication included inotropic and diuretics to lessen her heart burden.
Therefore, he expects the SpO2 detected on her extremities, will be higher now than gradually. This means her heart will grow stronger, enough to push fresh blood to her feet also, God willing.
We know the remodeling and recovery are not exclusively human works, but are also God’s provisions of grace, granted to us and we’re thankful. We pray for fast remodeling of LV of Sila’s heart.
My coworker Bria arrived this afternoon in the hospital to meet Sila and her mother after they arrived at Sheba hospital yesterday evening. She found out that Sila was already in emergency surgery because there was no blood pressure in her legs. The surgeons had to operate as soon as possible to save Sila.
I came to the hospital later to sit with Sila’s mother during surgery. After three hours, the surgeon came out to say that everything went well. Sila had coarctation of the aorta and they were able to fix the problems.
Sila’s mother praised the Lord a hundred times. She gave me a huge hug and thanked me and the Shevet team for being there for her. This mother is lovely and very positive and we had a good time together during the surgery, God bless her. Please pray for little Sila’s recovery.