Majed’s caregivers in the Hadassah Hospital ICU say he is doing much better since his tracheostomy, and his mother says he is often awake and even smiling. Until now I don’t think I ever saw Majed smiling. He’s looked anxious while struggling to breathe in the past, but this is a whole new look, almost a little boy look now.

Doctors are now assessing whether he needs a stomach feeding tube to help him continue to grow and develop. God bless their continued care of this little fighter.

Having endured more than seven pairs of intubation/extubation procedures, Majed has finally received the tracheostomy that the team at Hadassah Hospital wanted to avoid and tried every possible other procedure to help Majed breathe more easily, but became necessary in the end. Majed is now in post-surgery mode and sedated.

Regular suction is needed at the tracheostomy site and his mother seems somewhat depressed to see the site. She will have to learn the cleaning and maintaining process for this condition before going back to her home and family with her baby boy.

Also, it was mentioned that perhaps little Majed would like to go for a stroll in the sunshine. He’s been in hospital for so long. But now we are told he is not allowed to sit in the newly-purchased stroller because he has a strong bacteria (MRSA) contamination that could infect other babies who would potentially also sit in the stroller.

Please pray for his fast recovery at last and for a long-awaited discharge.

Majed was re-intubated over the weekend at Hadassah Hospital. Doctors had to decide after the holiday whether or not to give Majed a tracheostomy. The decision was made to do the tracheostomy today and it seemed to have went well. Majed was tranquil from a distance, however we were not allowed to enter and take pictures.

Update tomorrow, hopefully with a photo.

Photos courtesy of Luisa

Today in Hadassah Hospital’s PICU, I visited sleeping Majed on the day of his mother’s arrival. I said so long to his grandmother and told her that her daughter would not arrive until 2:00 pm this afternoon. Coworker Elise collected Majed’s mother from the Erez Border Crossing and brought her to the Ashdod Community house to switch drivers. From there, coworkers Zech and Luisa drover her to Hadassah Hospital.

Two O’clock arrived.

Mommy was enchanted.

And couldn’t believe how much hair is on top of her little baby boy’s head!

The attending nurse said he believes Majed is ‘overall’ getting better. Thank you for your prayers.

I visited Hadassah Hospital today to do some pre-shabbat visits. Still in the PICU, little Majed was sleeping in his bed. The only difference is that his breathing was completely changed, from a stressful and labored breathing, to quiet and peaceful. It is a very big change. I almost couldn’t believe it. Both the charge nurse and Majed’s grandmother said Majed is much, much better today.

There were no longer any large and looming oxygen tanks in Majed’s room, no oxygen bag attached to his nebulizer mask which I saw just yesterday. He is on some oxygen support however but everything is looking much better. Thank you so much for your prayers.

A special thanks to the PICU medical staff, doctors and nurses alike, all of whom never gave up on this child or chose the easy way of treatment, but instead persevered and tried everything possible to restore this child from his rough beginnings without resorting to a tracheostomy. We at Shevet Achim are very thankful.

Majed’s mother will come to Hadassah Hospital on Sunday, swapping places with Majed’s grandmother who has spent the last two months by her grandson’s side, faithfully caring for and standing by him. Prayers go up now for this grandmother’s rest and recovery at home with her family.

Majed is on full oxygen support at Hadassah Hospital, but still breathing on his own, or ‘extubated.’ They are concerned that he possibly has another infection and they are going to be looking for this to resolve it.

This little guy is a tough trooper. God bless him.

Majed is in the PICU -3 of Hadassah Hospital.  He is improving and there has been no re-intubation as yet. However, Majed is still struggling to breath. Look at his serious and startled countenance.

His O2 saturation is usually about 20% and under pressure of 1 atm oxygen support, but the medical staff are helping him with 45% O2 under pressure in addition to 10 mmHg. (=10mmHg PEEP).

This very thin line of life is definitely good news for him. Your prayers for Majed are appreciated.

Little Majed is still extubated. We visited him today and found him asleep with oxygen support. His breathing was still labored however:

Majed seems to be managing and the need for a tracheostomy is diminishing with each hour that passes and he remains extubated. It was also encouraging to see that there are now fewer med infusions taking place. Only two windows lit up as compared to nearly seven last week.

Majed is due to see an ENT on May 15. Thank you for your continued prayers for him, especially now during this critical time of transitioning to deeper, more oxygenated breaths, of healing and of a steady recovery.

Little Majed was successfully extubated a little over an hour ago here at Hadassah Hospital. He is on very high pressure oxygen and is so far, so good – although his breathing is slightly labored. If this extubation does not work out, rather than re-intabating him, doctors will have to give  him a tracheostomy.

Your prayers are appreciated.

Little Jude had his bronchoscopy at Hadassah Hospital’s ICU yesterday. The findings were negative. There is no stenosis in his airways, no paralysis and nothing was found that explained Majed’s trouble remaining extubated.

The medical staff will attempt extubating Majed one more time either today or tomorrow. If it doesn’t work this time, they will give Majed a tracheostomy which will ease his breathing once and for all.

Majed’s family will have to learn how to keep the area clean and how to help little Majed cope with the change. He will need follow-up care of course. I was told the tracheostomy is not permanent, that someday it can be reversed when Majed is ready.  But our prayers are for a successful extubation. May it be so. Amen.

Majed was still re-intubated today at Hadassah Hospital’s ICU. No change in that he still cannot breathe well without being intubated. A small blood sample was taken today for testing for infections.

And medical staff were preparing him for a ultrasound image of his airways. Once the image was taken, they began preparing little Majed for a bronchoscopy. The bronchoscopy will help them to see what’s going on with his airways because they are almost certain the problem for Majed is somewhere in the throat.

Every part of this little person is linked elsewhere to something helping him survive this battle. We’re so thankful for the perseverance and careful watch of the medical staff in this ICU. They won’t give up on Majed, no matter how frustrating it seems that this small person isn’t showing signs of improvement.

May God move in Majed’s life and through this bronchoscopy, may some clarity be given, some solution become obvious to at least one doctor so that Majed can come out of this dark tunnel. Light please, light breaking into the darkness, breaking the negative cycles and bringing healing for Majad, Amen

Little Majed was crying when we entered his ICU room in Hadassah Hospital this afternoon. Frantically looking anywhere with his eyes, fiercely crying, but without ability to make any sound whatsoever. He was struggling, his arms and legs flailing, as three nurses were attempting to clean his airways, his bedding, and change his diaper, all at the same time.

It’s possible he was having a seizure while they were working over him, but the attending doctor wasn’t able to confirm that. She said she has already re-intubated little Majed at least five times. Each time they attempt extubation, it doesn’t last. She explained they want to do a CT of his throat as they suspect the problem is there, that he has some stenosis of the airways.  But they cannot keep him extubated long enough to get him to the CT department. And the cycle continues.

They sedated Majed while we were there. The affect was almost instant. Suddenly his eyes were closed and he was very still.

I thank God for modern medicine and the machinery that keeps this baby alive, but Majed needs to be held in his mother’s arms, he needs to nurse, be sung to, rocked to sleep, to see his family members, to grow and smile and cry so that he hears himself. May it be so God, please bring this small person to a place of healing. Amen.

Coworker Berith and I went to Hadassah Hospital today and found little Majed in his ICU bed with fairly labored breathing although he remained extubated.  An attending nurse said Majed’s situation is not good.

He continues to have bouts of lower oxygen saturation and troubled breathing even with the high-flow oxygen via cannula support.

While we were visiting him, Majed’s breathing was so labored, the nurses placed a ventilator to ease his breathing and give him some relief. She said it is something they try to use before the last straw which is to re-intubate him, but this they want to put off as long as possible.

Majed’s faithful grandmother is taking some time off from her vigil at Hadassah Hospital and will be relieved by Majed’s very own mother who will arrive in a few days. Paper work and time must have their way before such a swap can be implemented.

Majed was intubated and extubated many times because his airway was not in a good state so medical staff needed to intubate him again and again. However today, Majed was just extubated at that moment we entered the PICU of Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital. He was supplied with a high flow oxygen cannula and was breathing with his mouth also.

Little Majed was sleeping peacefully when coworker Mary and I stepped into his ICU room at Hadassah Hospital. He looked comfortable and peaceful with an oxygen reading at 80%.

Majed is still intubated. This piece of equipment helping him to heal. We’re thankful for it but at the same time we understand that doctors look for earliest opportunities to remove reliance upon it.

His grandmother wanted us to see how clean and beautiful his surgical scar is. He’s healed up really well. His heart function is good.

Thank you for your prayer support for this little guy.

Majed is in a stable condition still and wide awake these days although fully intubated. His heart is now very good, lungs not good but improving, and has a swelling at the throat still.

His grandmother continues to be by her grandson’s side and has made many acquaintances throughout the hospital with her cheerful personality and ready smile. She continues to go outside for a bit of fresh air and some exercise. There’s a lot of patience in this person and her example to us all is a high one.

We are praying for Majed’s eventual extubation and regaining  a proper ability to breathe all by himself.

Coworker Jonathan and I visited Majed and his grandmother yesterday at Hadassah Hospital before the Shabbat began.

Majed with his adorable curl, is doing much better. His heart and his lungs now are improved, although he has been re-intubated due to an upper respiratory swelling in the area of his throat which needs to resolve.

His faithful grandmother has been by his side for quite some time now. Ramadan has come and gone, and still both she and Majed are here. She remains concerned and will remain so until this little one has been made well. Meanwhile, she always has a smile ready for us and concern for the others moms from Gaza on her floor. Thank you for your prayers for this little one and his grandmother.

When I walked into the Pediatric ICU of Hadassah Hospital today, I directly saw a lot of doctors in Majed’s room. They again extubated him this morning just to realize he is still not strong enough. He failed again breathing on his own and so his doctors had to reintubate him again.

It’s pretty hard for his grandmother to see all of this. Please keep praying for Majed and his whole family!

Today Majed is intubated again at Hadassah Hospital because he could not maintain breathing by his own effort. He had difficulty in respiration so medical staff could not help but to connect him to mechanical ventilation.

He still has vivid scar on his chest and opened his eyes while probably listening to a song by my coworker Mary today. Please pray for this baby to breathe by his own strong effort !

When I traveled to Hadassah Hospital this afternoon and entered Majed’s Pediatric ICU room, I found him extubated and breathing on his own essentially. He was receiving a Nebulizer treatment briefly and was not a great fan of the process.

Majed’s grandmother continues to offer him some calming touches to his forehead and is remaining close by his side. She has a small convenience in that many of the medical staff speak some Arabic so she does not struggle with communication around her. Although all of her Ramadan holiday, completed within the next two days, has been spent in hospital, she is nevertheless thankful to be there for her grandson.

When they removed the Nebulizer, Majed was open-eyed and attempting to cry a bit but not much sound issued forth. He was able to look at me for a moment. He is still receiving some oxygen support and is also receiving a medication that keeps him calm, or not agitated. Agitation and upset create a drop in oxygen levels and the doctor said this isn’t good for him right now.

He has such tiny little feet and seems so perfectly made. They will continue to watch him and to keep him stable there in the ICU to the best of their ability. So thankful for the expertise and faithful concern of the staff at Hadassah Hospital. God continue to bless them in their work and to bless this little fellow and bring him to complete recovery.

Today at Hadassah Hospital, Majed was again sedated (sleeping by medicine) and intubated, but medical staff said they will try to detach the ECMO machine today. It’s a sign that Majed’s severity is getting better, step by step.

If this successful, it means his lungs are recovered far more than our expectations. Thank you God. Now we pray for his lungs’ “independence” from ECMO.

Since Majed got his four chest tubes placed at Hadassah Hospital for the purposes of draining excess fluids, he has been improving a little in his left lung. Because of that, doctors wanted to remove one of his chest tubes on the left side. Unfortunately he deteriorated after they had removed it and Majed hasn’t been doing well after this. His doctor told me today that his lungs are in a really bad condition. Please pray for this little boy who is in our Father’s hands. May the Lord protect him and give the doctors wisdom to treat him well.

Majed’s grandmother who is staying with him, has been suffering from tooth pain. Whenever I visit her she keeps asking about dental treatment. We haven’t been able to take her to a doctor yet, but hopefully that will happen soon. Please pray for her that everything will resolve well and that she will be able to get the right treatment and her pain will be lessened or will dissipate soon.

We commit Majed who is struggling so much right now to God and ask that He be with him and his grandmother and will heal them with his loving and mighty hand.

Last Thursday, Majed’s heart stopped due to tension pneumothorax. This kind of pneumothorax is a perforation of the soft balloon-like lung itself inside the hard rib cage and if the patient is under intubation, tension(pressure) will be collected between the rib cage and soft lung tissue. This tension leads to compression of central mediastinum and the heart and eventually the heart cannot beat due to external pressure and eventually stops beating.

Majed had “both” sides of tension pneumothorax and they did CPR and Majed’s heart began to beat again. Now he is in stable condition with four chest tubes inserted into hard rib cages to maintain usual negative pressure of it.

Prolonged intubation creates these dangerous conditions frequently in these premature babies, so please pray for this poor Majed to be extubated safely and soon.

Our sleeping cute baby Majed has two problems, as his doctor Rebecca talked with me yesterday at Hadassah Hospital:

1. The medical staffs cannot extubate him. They tried already twice but Majed failed to breathe on his own. They should have to re-intubate him twice.
2. His blood contains strong bateria, that is, a sepsis condition by MRSA which are resistant to many strong antibiotics.

The doctor wants to solve problem 1 by solving problem 2, but she and I are not sure it will work or not.

So we should pray for Majed. This poor Gazan boy should breathe by his own force after waking up! Let’s pray the third attempt of extubation would succeed.

Precious little Majed is in a bad condition, and I was told he is on antibiotic due to an infection, and he is also intubated again. His stomach is very swollen, and I thank God that he is in the good care of the excellent doctors that is working in Hadassah Ein Kerem. Please pray for Majed and for his lovely grandmother, but also for the wonderful crew that do all they can for the children.

Today Archie and I spent many hours with a wonderful person ….. a devoted grandmother from Gaza who was waiting so patiently for her daughter’s month old baby, Majed, to have his catheterisation procedure.

For this lovely lady, the wait was a period of considerable endurance, since her little grandson urgently needed the cath, in order to help correct his condition, pulmonary stenosis. When we walked into the room where she was waiting, we introduced ourselves as volunteers from Shevet Achim, and were greeted with huge smiles and big hugs! As we got to know each other over the hours, we managed to communicate via Google translate and learned a lot about each other’s families. We were introduced to her family back home via WhatsApp video, greeting one another with smiles and waves, as we couldn’t speak Arabic and they couldn’t speak English. Language was no barrier to the warmth of affection that flowed between us.

Little Majed came back to the ICU after his cath, and the medical team monitored him with such warmth and care, keeping Majed’s grandmother and us fully up-to-date with his progress. The doctors and nurses were incredibly caring, and we eventually left knowing that we had made great friends with Majed’s grandmother, and that her tiny grandson was making the progress we have been praying for.

Coworker Jonathan and I took a city bus up the hill to Hadassah Hospital this afternoon before the Shabbat began. I took a picture out the bus window. This lovely church is nestled in the hillside just before the hospital. We were on our way to meet our latest arrival from Gaza, little Majed.

Majed is stationed in Hadassah’s Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit. His escort is his grandmother. When we entered their ICU room, she was feeding him a bottle which he loved only when it was from her hand.

I tried feeding him the bottle and this is what he thought of that:

Majed is diagnosed with Pulmonary Atresia. Thus far, the plan is that Majed will receive a catheterization on Monday to open up his pulmonary valve. He’s such a little guy to pass through this health condition so I pray for a new hope and a restored future for Majed. God bless this procedure on Monday, may Majed come through it successfully.

There is a cheerful mobile floating from the ceiling, to the left of his crib. Majed is too tiny to notice it, but it was a pleasant contribution on Hadassah’s part nevertheless. I pray for a hope and a future for Majed and that all goes well on Monday.