Today Mohammed had his follow-up echo. He was a peaceful and content child for most of the procedure, which made it all much less painful than it could have been.
Today Mohammed had a busy day of follow up appointments. The hope was that he would be cleared to return home to Kurdistan leter this week. After an ECG, echocardiogram, and pacemaker check the doctor said he he was happy with his pacemaker. But he wants to have one more echo to make sure his heart is fully healed. We will continue to moniter his breathing and for a fever. Mohammed was also brave today for his RSV vaccination.
It was a beautiful day to accompany the handsome Mohammed and his mother to Sheba Hospital for a follow up echocardiogram, EKG, and pacemaker check. He did not enjoy the experience, but calmed quickly.
Understandably, Mom is anxious to go home but looked relieved her son would not need an additional surgery at this time. Mohammed will need pacemaker checks every six months. We pray he will continue to strengthen, heal and thrive with his repaired heart.
Almost one month on the dot after his arrival to Sheba Hospital, little Mohammed has been discharged to our house in Ashdod in good condition. His mother was happy to leave the hospital, although she worries about her son’s condition.
They’ll be back in the hospital in one week for his follow-up echo and pacemaker check-up.
We are thankful that Mohammed had a successful pacemaker surgery, and very grateful for the care that he received from the hospital. It was a lovely time waiting with his mother. We shared pastries and tea, and learned more about each others lives.
As we waited for Mohammed, we watched a family enter into the surgery area. The young girl who was receiving surgery kissed her family farewell before entering into the preoperative area. Mohammed’s mother shed tears at this sight. It is a beautiful sight to see a family together. There were so many different emotions that we felt while we waited for the surgery to finish.
A couple hours later we saw Mohammed in his crib being wheeled out of the surgery area and eagerly went to see him. We heard that he is well, and his mother wept tears of joy and relief for her son. We then returned to the ICU, where Mohammed is recovering.
We hope that Mohammed will adapt well to his new pacemaker and that he will be reunited with his whole family soon.
Mohammed’s mother cried when I translated to her today at Sheba Hospital, that her son would require a permanent pacemaker. I shared with her about another story of a child from Kurdistan who required a pacemaker and photos of him playing and celebrating life. This made her smile, knowing that they are not alone. We are praying for her and Mohammed as they wait for his pacemaker surgery, which is scheduled in two days from now.
It is really lovely seeing the dedication of Naim’s mother for her son – she told me in Kurdish that all the various trials and challenges she faces are nothing in comparison for her love for Mohammed. I hope that she would be comforted, knowing that our Father in heaven also willingly sacrificed His own son for all of humanity – including for her and Mohammed. Yet also he empathizes with our struggles and suffering, and sees her tears.
Please pray for her family at home as well, as Mohammed’s sisters and family dearly miss him.
I had the pleasure of meeting Mohammed’s mother today. She is a lovely lady from the Akre region of Kurdistan. She misses her family, which includes her five year old daughter at home in Kurdistan. Primarily she is concerned regarding Mohammed’s heart. He currently requires a temporary pacemaker in order to keep his heart beating at a healthy rate and rhythm. After seven days of the temporary pacemaker, doctors at Sheba Hospital will re-evaluate whether he will need a permanent pacemaker.
This morning I arrived early at Sheba Hospital to be with Mohammed’s mother during his surgery. She cried a lot because she was afraid of what might happen in the surgery and after a few hours she calmed down. The doctor told us it would be a long and risky surgery.
Mohammed is happily waiting in Sheba Hospital’s ICU for his surgery. Right now, it is scheduled for this coming Sunday. He is a very cute and happy boy. Also his mother is very sweet. We had some good conversation while I visited her.
Today coworker Zech and I drove to Sheba Hospital to visit Mohammed and his mother. They need to stay in the hospital for the second time and his mother wasn’t very happy about it. His oxygen is still low so he is receiving oxygen-support, necessary at this point. When the doctors came we needed to call one of the mothers in our house in Ashdod for translation. I was very glad to see how they support each other.
On this coming Wednesday, Mohammed will have a CT scan and then the doctors will discuss his treatment plan. We pray he will stay safe and sound in hospital and that his oxygen levels will remain stable.
Today coworker Bjorn and I drove to Sheba Hospital’s ER after I measured Mohammed’s oxygen and it was at 40/45. The drive to the hospital took a long time because on the way from Ashdod to the hospital there were many checkpoints on the road created necessarily by Israeli military.
Because I was monitoring the oxygen the whole time, I was very worried, becouse the oxygen level was everything but stable. When we arrived to the ER, everything went pretty fast and Mohammed was admitted to the ICU.
Mohammed got discharged today from Sheba Hospital. He was with his mother there for two days immediately after he came to Israel. Mohammed needed to go directly to the hospital after the flight from Kurdistan landed in Israel because of his bad oxygen saturation levels.
Now he is stable enough to come to our home in Ashdod. They are now settling in and getting to know the other families here. Mohammed needs to return to Sheba in two weeks for a next appointment. We thank God that he is stable for now!
We ask for your prayers for a good treatment plan for Mohammed!
Sweet Mohammed from Kurdistan came with his mother to Israel today for heart surgery.
Mohammed is a very cute three month old, but because of his heart defect, very blue and unstable.
After tests and questions, the doctors gave Mohammed’s mother some space to rest after this exciting day. The doctor explained to me that they need more time to run tests on Mohammed. Apparently he has a complicated heart with the ‘normal’ heart problems, but his heart is also completely reversed. Everything that should be left is on the right side, and the other way around. We ask for your prayer for wisdom for the doctors.
Mohammed from Kurdistan is a three month old child from Kurdistan, northern Iraq diagnosed with D-TGA
Mohammed does not yet have a local leader to advocate for prayer and financial support for his surgery.
As of right now, Mohammed from Kurdistan still needs $5500 toward surgery and related expenses.