Walking into the ICU of Sheba Medical Center today, coworker Caroline and I were unsure in what condition we would find our sweet Dareen. The last we had seen her, she was intubated and under anesthesia after her catheterization took a wrong turn as it caused some bleeding. Her mother had been deeply shaken and nervous. We left her sitting by Dareen’s side last night with a big questionmark over the situation.
This morning, Dareen’s bed was empty. Immediately my mind started asking questions— was she ok? Did she go back into the operating room? But, at the side of the room sat her mother smiling and waving at us to come in.
A few moments later Dareen emerged from behind a corner awake, smiling, and dressed in her own clothes! There was immediate relief at the sight of this precious girl being ok. She had been sitting on her mother’s bed watching videos as her mother attempted to get her to eat.
Unfortunately Dareen wasn’t wanting to eat, so we took her downstairs to play for a while. With the medicine being in her system and making her head a little foggy, she wasn’t quite herself. She didn’t want to play and hardly bothered coloring— which are both things she usually loves to do.
After giving her and her mother some space, we later found them upstairs and discovered that Dareen was going to be discharged.What a blessing from the Lord for such a quick recovery from an unexpected bump! Dareen, though still not quite herself, did seem happy that she was going to be leaving the hospital.
A nurse came into her room to go through the discharge information, and also to remove her IV line. It was sweet to see her teach Dareen how to remove it herself. She patiently waited as Dareen slowly but surely took it out of her arm.
As Dareen walked out of the ICU, the doctors and nurses said goodbye’s from all around the room as she shyly smiled and said, “Yalla bye!” back to them. I am so grateful for the medical team that the Lord has placed and equipped in the cardiology unit. They are all skilled at their jobs, and they maintain such a sweetness with the children. Many of them kept smiling at Dareen as she walked out. May the Lord bless their hands richly and fill them with the wisdom they need to continue treating each child that comes into the hospital.
Dareen and her mother got a taxi back home to Hebron. It was bittersweet to say goodbye as we have come to dearly love both Dareen and her mother. But, it is a joyous thing that Dareen is doing so well and that she got to be reunited with her family. May all the glory be to the Lord for the work He has done in her life. He is the One who has done all this, and it is very good.
We look forward to seeing Dareen in October, God willing, for a routine checkup. Please continue to rejoice with us for Dareen’s life!
Co-worker Elisa and I arrived at Sheba today for sweet 10-year-old Dareen’s catheterization.
We waited with her before the procedure, passing the time colouring, playing games and chatting with her Mum, who has very good English, lucky for us!
Dareen finally went into the catheterization lab at 12:20pm. We had been told she would be in there for around two hours, but as two hours passed and the wait stretched towards three, Mum understandably began to worry.
Eventually, the doctor came out to speak with her. Elisa and I watched as they spoke together in Arabic, trying to read the news from their expressions as frowns and concern appeared on Mum’s face.
After the doctor left, Mum explained what had happened. The good news was that Dareen’s previous Fontan surgery has kept her heart in good function, and her oxygen levels satisfactory. Unfortunately, while the doctors were ballooning a vessel, some damage occurred, causing bleeding. They needed to insert a breathing tube and keep Dareen asleep while they worked to stop the bleeding.
Dareen returned to an ICU room with the breathing tube in place. The doctors expect to wake her tomorrow. We said goodbye to a very worried Mum, leaving her beside her beautiful daughter.
Join us in praying for a full recovery from this unexpected bleed and shalom over her Mum. We will see them both tomorrow morning and expect to see a recovered and awake Dareen, thank God.
It is always a delight to see Dareen! The moment she walked into Sheba Medical Center to be admitted for her catheterization tomorrow, I was greeted with a humongous hug from this sweet girl. Just two weeks ago, Dareen had some dental work done which included getting two teeth pulled. It is wonderful to report that she made a smooth and full recovery.
For two or three hours, Dareen played with Masa— another Shevet child who had come for an echo. They instantly bonded as they ran around the halls of the cardiology unit, colored, and played with a slinky. Dareen showed great maturity as she patiently played with Masa who proved to be a bit of a troublemaker. Every time Masa got into a bit of trouble, Dareen would sweetly smile and give me a wink as she showed grace to her new friend.
After waiting for a while, Dareen was finally called into a room to receive an echo, EKG, and later an x-ray in preparation for her catheterization. Her kind mother shared that this is Dareen’s first catheterization since she was six. She is a little bit nervous, but her mother has constantly reassured her that all will be well.
After her appointments played for a while longer as she waited to be admitted to her room for the night.
Please lift up Dareen in prayer— may she have healing and peace from our most wonderful Lord.
Young Dareen was not having such a delightful day when coworker Hannah and I found her this morning in Sheba Hospital. She had just come out of a minor surgery to remove two teeth, and receive two crowns before her upcoming catheterization. The doctors said the surgery went very well, but Dareen was not a happy camper afterwards.
With a mix of anesthesia making her head fuzzy, nerve blocks in her mouth, and an IV in her hand— she cried for quite some time while her mother worked ceaselessly to comfort her daughter.
After we had given them some space so as not to overwhelm Dareen, we later found them in the elevator of the children’s hospital. Dareen, sitting in a wheelchair while the rest of the anesthesia wore off, looked a little ruffled but was much more bright and cheerful than before.
Soon we found ourselves sitting with her at a table coloring, laughing, making silly faces, and goofing off.
The exceedingly silly side of Dareen once more emerged as we had known it during previous visits. It seemed as if she hadn’t even just gone through an operation.
The time with Dareen was short as she and her mother were able to get a taxi home many hours earlier than they initially planned. Though we would have loved to spend more time with Dareen, we look forward to seeing her at the end of the month for a catheterization, Lord willing.
We’ve come to love this sweet and spunky girl so very much!
Please continue to lift Dareen up in your prayers. May her mouth heal quickly without pain, and may the Lord continue to uphold her in His healing work!
Last night, Darin stayed overnight at Sheba Hospital in preparation for her echocardiogram this morning. She was visibly tired today, but even so, she wore her smile and showed her incredible bravery. As is usual with echocardiogram appointments, she also had an ECG followed by a conversation with her doctor.
The doctor was happy to see that Darin looked good, better than at her last appointment, but not quite where they would like her to be. Her ECG results were somewhat concerning, as was her consistently low oxygen level, which measured 80% while she was lying down.
The plan remains for Darin to undergo her catheterization on August 30, and to have a tooth extracted before August 13. God willing, this catheterization will address the issues with her low oxygen levels and ECG results. She will also have a follow-up appointment with her doctor and an ECG specialist three months from now.
After her appointment, we spent some more time together. Darin told us that art is her favorite subject in school, and she is an incredibly gifted artist. We spent a long time coloring together, and she drew uncanny portraits of Elisa and me.
Please continue to keep Darin in your prayers. We pray that she will remain stable despite the physical challenges she is facing, and that everything will go well until we see her again at Sheba. We already can’t wait to see her again!
Today, when we arrived at the hospital to meet Dareen for the first time, it was such a pleasant surprise to see her face immediately light up with a smile.
As of now, Dareen has a catheterization scheduled for August 30th. It is routine for children to have a dental examination prior to this treatment to reduce the risk of bacterial growth. So today, she had her dental examination.
From start to finish, this precious little girl seemed to have a smile on her face, even while waiting and during the moments when she was nervous. She was so brave during her dental examination. She also went down to have X-rays taken of her teeth. Afterward, we celebrated and rewarded her bravery with ice cream.
For the next few hours, we tried to pass the time while we waited to figure out the sleeping arrangements for her and her mother, since they both have to be back tomorrow for an echocardiogram. We had such a blessed time with this little girl. She is very charismatic. We colored for a long while, made funny faces at each other, and played rock, paper, scissors. We always had something to do.
What they discovered today is that she will need to have a tooth removed before her catheterization. They need to have it done before August 13th to give her mouth time to heal before her catheterization on August 30th.
Before they can schedule the procedure, they need to consult with her doctor because her resting oxygen saturation is 77%, and there are concerns about whether to put her under anesthesia or give her sedatives. They need to discuss what the safest option is, given the short amount of time before the dental work needs to be completed.
So please join me in prayer that all of these details will fall into place by the Father’s hand. Please also pray that this little girl will remain happy, healthy, and full of smiles until the time comes for her dental procedure and catheterization.
Her smile is a gift from God. Thank You Lord for this precious girl.
This morning, Dareen’s bed was empty. Immediately my mind started asking questions— was she ok? Did she go back into the operating room? But, at the side of the room sat her mother smiling and waving at us to come in.
After giving her and her mother some space, we later found them upstairs and discovered that Dareen was going to be discharged.What a blessing from the Lord for such a quick recovery from an unexpected bump! Dareen, though still not quite herself, did seem happy that she was going to be leaving the hospital.
A nurse came into her room to go through the discharge information, and also to remove her IV line. It was sweet to see her teach Dareen how to remove it herself. She patiently waited as Dareen slowly but surely took it out of her arm.
Dareen and her mother got a taxi back home to Hebron. It was bittersweet to say goodbye as we have come to dearly love both Dareen and her mother. But, it is a joyous thing that Dareen is doing so well and that she got to be reunited with her family. May all the glory be to the Lord for the work He has done in her life. He is the One who has done all this, and it is very good.
