Co-worker Elisa and I found Bushra asleep in her room this morning, with Mum sitting patiently beside her waiting for her to wake. Once awake, and after some chatting with the three of us, she quickly became the energetic little girl we had met yesterday.
None of us knew what time her catheterization would be, so we popped in and out throughout the morning. At 11am, the cath lab orderly came to collect Bushra, and off we went.
Bushra had a successful catheterization. The doctor ballooned a narrowed artery and placed a stent. She also found that some of Bushra’s smaller branched arteries are narrowed. These are too small for stents and may require graft surgery in the near future.
Bushra was placed in recovery then returned to her room where they kept her asleep for a little longer. Being such an energetic little girl, she needed to remain still for a while after her catheterization. Thank you for praying for this delightful girl. Please continue to pray for her recovery and her return home to be her cute, bouncy self again.
Three year old Bushra, almost four, arrived today from Bethlehem to Sheba Medical Center for her yearly catheterization. I first met Bushra and her Mum last year at Sheba so it was lovely to see them again and have a little reunion.
Bushra was unusually happy and excited to be back in hospital while Mum was relaxed and chatted easily to me.
Bushra with chocolate ice cream down the front of her dress, was so happy that she couldn’t stop laughing as she tore around the cardiac waiting room, barbie clutched in hand, playing with my co-worker Elisa. Running around without tiring is an excellent indication that her heart is working well. Mum says her oxygen satutation is 85%, not bad! She does say, however, that Bushra can’t stay in a swimming pool for long, as her lips and extremities turn blue after about 10 minutes.
Her catheterization is tomorrow morning so we will wait and see what it shows us. We pray for a restful and peaceful night for both Bushra and her Mum and a smooth procedure and excellent result tomorrow! God bless them!
Early in the morning I met Bushra and her mom of Bethlehem in the entrance of the Sheba’s Children’s Hospital. Bushra had an appointment for a CT scan and they needed help to find the imaging department. I carefully led them down the sidewalk to a quiet and beautiful side street that led to the imaging department.
Although Bushra had been fasting, she was having a good time playing with her toy golden retriever dog and her toy purse. She also liked to play a version of peek-a-boo and hide-and-seek. Bushra would hide behind a wall in the lobby and then peek out to see if I saw her. She would peek out and look at me and giggle.
Bushra is such a sweet little girl. It’s no wonder that someone bought her a couple balloons during her long wait in the imaging lobby. She really loved her balloons so much.
At last she went to the CT scan, and although she returned with some tears, she was quickly comforted by her caring mom. She held her tightly and fed her a delicious sesame seed bagel. Bushra’s CT scan will help her cardiologist determine how to best treat her.
Please pray for the next step in Bushra’s treatment.
It was a pleasant surprise to hear that Bushra would be joining us this morning at Sheba Medical Center. Bushra is a happy little girl from Bethlehem. She was having a good time blowing bubbles over little Rezan from Ramallah, who enjoyed the entertainment while they waited for their appointments.
Bushra received an echocardiogram and an electrocardiogram. Please pray for sweet little Bushra to continue to progress in her healing process, and that the doctors would have wisdom, knowledge, and understanding on how to treat her.
Bushra and her mom came to the hospital from Bethlehem today. Bushra found creative ways to entertain herself during the longer than usual wait today.
She had fun with the balloon made from a medical glove. Bushra and I had fun bopping it around, or she liked to tease me by offering the balloon, and then pulling it back. She had a lot of laughs when her mom or I would chase her in the lobby. Blowing and popping bubbles was also great fun.
Despite the fact that Bushra was delayed in coming to her 8 am appointment, arriving two hours later, the children’s cardiac hospital staff at Sheba Medical Center did not turn her away. This shows the great care and love they have for these children from the West Bank. It exemplifies the character trait of “Chesed” or lovingkindness that our father Abraham is known for.
Please pray for Bushra to be healthy for her upcoming catheterization and pray for the doctors to have wisdom and understanding for the best possible treatment for this precious three-year-old girl.
Today at Sheba Hospital, I met Bushra for the first time, an adorable smiling three-year-old from Bethlehem. She was a happy little girl and really enjoyed the clown dressed as a fat policeman riding around on a scooter. He made a small dog out of a long red balloon and gave it to Bushra.
Bushra had an echocardiogram and an ECG today. The doctors also took a blood test to see if she should continue taking her current medication. She will return to Sheba in two months for surgery.
Please pray for smiling Bushra to continue to heal, and that the doctors will have understanding of the necessary care she needs in the next steps of her healing process.
Little Bushra came safely through another interventional catheterization today, as doctors successfully blocked two blood vessels that had developed abnormally. They made it clear that Bushra has a long and challenging course of treatment still ahead of her, and that there are limits to what they can accomplish. As Bushra’s father said today, we do what we can and the rest is in God’s hands.
Today at Sheba Hospitla, I made a great friend with Bushra. First of all, she has an adorable personality. Upon her mother’s request, she came to greet me but instead of a traditional greeting she formed one of her hands into a half heart, turned, and bolted. While waiting for the hospitalization to move forward, she amused herself by playing “peek-a-boo” as well as attempting a couple jump scares (as her flailing arms in the picture show) .
I quickly discovered that making ‘half’ hearts for others to finish with their own hand, is one of her favorite things to do, and she repeatedly did it for me, my coworker, her mother, and even the doctors.
I tried teaching her my name (which I must admit is not the easiest to learn especially for someone her age), and she eventually landed on “Dee Dee.” I find this so endearing because it’s what my little sisters back home call me.
Tomorrow Bushra is scheduled to go in for a catheterization. Her mother said they want to widen one (or maybe more) arteries. We pray it goes smoothly.
Today saw Bushra and her mama back at Sheba Hospital for another blood test to check her medication levels to see if her dosage needs to be adjusted.
Bushra was extremely happy and playful today. While we waited with her for her test, we had fun trying out new games and playing tag through the halls. At one point, a nurse gave us what looked like a bag of little colorful sticks and we had to figure out what they were for because the instructions were written in Chinese!! But with the help of an online translator, we were finally able to figure out how to play with them and had a lot of fun.
Unfortunately Bushra has pretty much memorized what the blood test room looks like and started to cry and scream the moment we got in. Thankfully the nurse was very good and was able to get the blood very quickly and then we were done and just had to wait for the results.
Bushra also got to meet one of our current resident babies, Fonda, and was delighted to watch her.
As a reward for not completely puncturing our eardrums during the test, coworker Max even got her an ice cream while we waited for the results of the test.
Once the results came back the doctors decided to keep her on the Clexane until her next checkup in early August.
Lovely Bushra from Bethlehem returned to Sheba Hospital for her blood test today. The girl is full of joy. She loved to explore the corridors and especially loved the fish in the aquarium.
She was quite happy to see me and would gladly share her candy with me.
Since we had quite a few appointments with some other children today, it felt like we were a big family.
Bushra and her mother seemed to have many friends at Sheba.
Unfortunately she knew exactly what was happening when we entered the room for the blood test. Bushra cried a lot before anyone even touched her. Thankfully the nurse knew exactly what she was doing and the blood draw went quickly. Dr. Borek did everything in her power to get the prescription with the adjusted anticoagulants as soon as possible so that Bushra and her mum were able to get home to Bethlehem in time.
Her next appointment for another blood test will be on Wednesday. I pray that Bushra would keep her joy and that the Lord would protect her heart, “for from it flow the springs of life.” (Prov. 4:23)
Bushra was discharged from Sheba Hospital today! Following a successful catheterization on Monday, the doctors decided to discharge Bushra back home. She will be returning on Sunday morning for some blood tests to confirm how much medication she will need to be taking.
Today found Bushra rather shy towards me and Max. However she slowly warmed up to me, and decided that Max was to be avoided at all costs. We had fun exploring the fish tank in the lobby, tossing a little ball around, and playing with some balloons. I loved the chance to hear her cute little giggles while she watched the fish swim around their tank.
The discharge process took several hours because the doctor had to wait for the results from a blood test to see what dosage she was going to need for her medication. So by the time she was fully discharged, it was too late for her to use Wheels of Hope, the Palestinian Authority’s ministry to get the families back to their homes. Therefore, we drove Bushra and her mother to the border crossing with their village.
Today at Sheba Hospital, Bushra had her diagnostic catheterization to resolve some pressure issues.
We found her very shy at first when we went to wait with her and her mother to be taken back for the procedure.
But while waiting to be taken back for the catheterization she opened up a little bit and actually smiled and laughed a little while Max played with her in the waiting area.
Her cath went well, with the doctors finding a slight narrowing of some of the vessels that they ballooned open some more in hopes of resolving the pressure issues. The hope is that this will work and she won’t need another surgery later on to widen them more.
Bushra had a little bit of a tough time coming out of the anesthesia. The doctors told her mother that Bushra couldn’t move her right leg for a little while because that was the leg that they had used to gain access to the heart and they were worried that movement could cause unnecessary bleeding. So while she was waking up she started to thrash around a bit and we had to hold her leg down so that she didn’t injure herself. But thankfully after a couple of minutes, she calmed down and went back to sleep and no harm was done.
When I arrived to Sheba Hospital, I found Bushra and her parents waiting for an Echo. From the sounds of it, Bushra has some blood flow into her left lung that is not supposed to be there, so tomorrow they will do a diagnostic Catheterization to see what is going on and if she will need another surgery.
Despite facing a Cath tomorrow, Bushra seemed to be doing pretty well and was in a fairly good mood! Sister Yedidyah showed her how to make a hand heart which was very cute. And we got a smile or two out of her.
Please pray that Bushra’s operation tomorrow will go well, and that they will find out what is going on and how to move forward.
Today when I visited little three year old Bushra i could tell that she was a little more down than usual.
She does seem to be doing better though. Her mom even showed me pictures she has been drawing! The doctors have moved her into Secondary ICU and will have a CT tomorrow. Please join me in thanking Jesus for her quick recovery!
This morning at Sheba Medical Center, Bushra was taken to the OR for a small, nonessential (but nevertheless helpful) surgery.
The medical team cut into her left side where they connected some blood vessels from the left side of her heart to the left lung. These connections help with more effective pumping. They plan to do the right side as well, but for now she will give everything she has to recover from this procedure.
Please pray for Bushra, that she may recover hastily and experience no post-surgical complications.
Today I met sweet three-year old Bushra from Bethlehem. She arrived to Sheba Medical Center this morning to be admitted for her long-awaited surgery tomorrow.
She is absolutely adorable and greeted me with a handshake and was running around like only a three-year-old can.
She also liked to draw and peel the crayons, but who at her age didn’t?
When I got there I found that she had already had an echo and was just awaiting a X-ray which we found out later.
Finally she got a bed and the nurse got her ready for the night. She handled everything like a champ!!!
Please pray that the surgery tomorrow will go well and without hitches and that she will heal quickly. Please pray also that we will be able to form a good relationship with her parents.
Today I found Bushra and her parents at Sheba Medical’s Children’s Hospital, waiting for her long-awaited CT scan. It was my second time meeting this lovely family, who race to share and insist on hospitality, even in the middle of the foreign hospital environment; and although Bushra and I seemed to be back at square one (with her being very shy again), I think we had some positive interaction.
Bushra’s CT went without any difficulties, although the little girl found it rather distressing and wept at points. Her doctors are going to examine the results of the scan and consult as to a path forward for surgery. Now it’s just a matter of our waiting and seeing what comes. We pray for her well-being and for the wisdom of her physicians as we anticipate her surgery.
When coworker Anna and I reached Sheba Hospital, we found Bushra already in the middle of her echo. Bushra was very nervous, but laid there still, quietly trusting the comforting hands of her parents.
Bushra is a two-year-old girl (the youngest of three sisters) with a complicated heart condition, including tetralogy of fallot. She’s had some tests and catheterizations, but no surgery yet; unusual for children with this condition, who normally have their first surgery within the first few months of life. But she’s grown into a very sweet little girl all the same, shy, but eager to play when offered. When I was speaking with her father later as she was in his arms, she reached over and started playing with my mustache. Her parents were also very kind. They demonstrated above and beyond the Arab standard of hospitality, offering Anna and I virtually everything they had in the moment. Bushra’s mother is a skilled baker and fed us some of her homemade pastries that she had brought for their eating.
Bushra’s examining cardiologist thinks of the surgical treatment for Bushra is possible, albeit difficult due to her age. He’s recommended her for a CT scan and likely a diagnostic catheterization, after which the team of doctors at Sheba hospital will discuss sending her forward to surgery.
We pray for Bushra’s safety, her stability, and her quick healing, and the wisdom of her doctors. We ask God to bless the life of this sweet little girl.
Co-worker Elisa and I found Bushra asleep in her room this morning, with Mum sitting patiently beside her waiting for her to wake. Once awake, and after some chatting with the three of us, she quickly became the energetic little girl we had met yesterday.
Bushra had a successful catheterization. The doctor ballooned a narrowed artery and placed a stent. She also found that some of Bushra’s smaller branched arteries are narrowed. These are too small for stents and may require graft surgery in the near future.
Bushra had a successful catheterization. The doctor ballooned a narrowed artery and placed a stent. She also found that some of Bushra’s smaller branched arteries are narrowed. These are too small for stents and may require graft surgery in the near future.
