Ahmed is a bright and cheerful boy. He’s shy and quick to be afraid, but when he’s comfortable he warms up strong to you. Our brother Willem met Ahmed when he was here last year, and he was very excited to meet Ahmed again–and although at first Ahmed was confused, he soon remembered! And he was happy to see Willem again.
Ahmed returned early for his follow-up because his leg is swelling up with liquid, and his Gaza doctors were concerned. However, his Sheba examiner decided it was nothing to worry about and not related to his heart condition or surgery–likely instead a drainage problem that he will grow out of. And indeed, although Ahmed’s step was a little affected, his mood was not, and he spent the whole time he was here running around and playing. He’ll return in six months for his next follow-up. In the meantime, pray for his continued healing and recovery!
For me it was the first time that I got to know Ahmed and his mother. Even before I saw him, the other coworkers told me what a joyful boy he was. Willem, a good friend of the Shevet Community, even sent greetings to the two from the Netherlands.
The stories told by others turned out to be correct – Ahmed really is a communicative and lively boy. In the waiting area, as can be seen in the photo, he had fun with the coworkers Elise and Luisa. He kept saying “Elo” and then started laughing out loud.
During his echo, which was scheduled for today, he had less fun. A total of three doctors teased him to keep him calm. All the better that the results were good. The doctor explained that a small stent with a valve might be implanted in a few years. That is why the doctors want to hold regular follow-up appointments.
The next appointment will be in six month’s time. May the Lord bless the little boy until then.
This morning, we met Ahmed and his mother at the Gaza border and drove them to Sheba hospital for Ahmed’s echo appointment.
Ahmed is a cute little boy who had surgery as a baby to correct his heart defect, Tetralogy of Fallot. It’s been five months since he had a catheterization to replace a blocked conduit, and his echo today revealed that there is no blockage in the conduit now and the blood flow through it is good. His doctor decided to reduce and soon stop one of Ahmed’s medications to treat fluid buildup.
Ahmed, who slept most of the car ride to the hospital, woke up slowly during his echo, and after a bit of crying in the echo, he got a sticker from the echo technician to cheer him up. After the exam, he was back to his normal cheerful self, showing off his adorable grin.
Ahmed will return for another check-up in four months. We hope and pray he will be happy and healthy at home in the meantime.
Today coworker Amelie and I picked up cute Ahmed and his mother at Erez boarder crossing.
He had his first follow up appointment after his cath at Sheba medical center.
His ECG and echo looked both really good, his doctor was very happy for now and said that he wants to see him again in three month. After we finished everything in the hospital we brought both of them safe back to Gaza. Let us pray for the whole family of Ahmed and his time until he comes back!
This afternoon, Ahmed was discharged from the Sheba hospital after two successful operations. They placed a stent to open his right ventricle. I was so pleased to see him so much better.
We brought him and his father back to the Gaza strip, and they where so glad to go home!
Ahmed has a really special place in my heart. When we picked them up one and a half weeks ago at the border crossing, Ahmed was in such a bad state. Now after his operations, it’s going much better with him! This is why I am so glad to do the work at Shevet Achim, because God uses us to serve these families.
Today I found Ahmed in his room at Sheba Medical, fully extubated, sitting up, eating and drinking and smiling. I was very surprised. It didn’t seem like he had a big surgery just yesterday.
But he did, and it went very well. The surgeons did everything they needed to do. Ahmed’s father is very happy and he already asked me if they can go home soon. I said I didn’t know, but I could imagine it wouldn’t be long.
Thank you for all your prayers and praise the Lord for his goodness and mercy.
Ahmed went into surgery today at Sheba Medical Center. Doctors discovered in Ahmed’s CT-scan yesterday, that he needs a new pathway for his blood to flow properly. It is extra complicated because Ahmed’s coronary arteries are flowing in a different pathway than what is normal.
Coworker Bria and I spoke to Ahmed’s father. He was quite relaxed and waited patiently for his son to come out of surgery.
Thank you for your prayers. We keep asking for your prayers for this lovely, cute boy. Always saying ‘Bye, bye!’ Tomorrow we will find out how Ahmed’s surgery went.
Today I visited Ahmed at Sheba Hospital. He received me with a big smile and said ‘bye bye!’ It was nice to see him doing better then before his catheterization.
Scheduled today for Ahmed was an echo and tomorrow he will get a CT-scan to see if he is really okay now and to see what needs to happen in the future. Hopefully tomorrow after the CT-scan, the doctor has more information about how Ahmed is really doing.
For now he is happy in the hospital playing with his balloon. And when I left the room, again he said: ‘Bye bye!’
Finally Ahmed received his urgent cath at Sheba Medical today. It went well and the doctors could do what was planned. For now Ahmed is in a good condition, but after some follow-ups, Ahmed probably needs another cath in a year.
It was very nice for me to visit Ahmed and his father, since they did spend the last days in our guesthouse in Ashdod. We had such a nice time and loved the company of cute Ahmed and his kind father.
We are glad that for now the cath could save Ahmed’s life and that the doctors had the opportunity to take care of him. Let’s praise God and pray for a good recovery.
Today Ahmed with his father were in the Sheba hospital and I went with them for an echo and other investigations. When the doctor looked at the computer screen for the medical records, he was shocked and ask why Ahmed was not coming two years ago to them!! Now the situation is very serious and they have to catheterize him as soon as possible.
Going back to Gaza today would have been very dangerous, and the doctor asked if Ahmed could stay in Ashdod with Shevet Achim. So now they are here in our new Shevet Achim house and we hope that Ahmed can have his operation very soon.
As soon as she saw me, Ahmed’s auntie told me happily that they are going home to Gaza today. It has been quite a long time for them both in the hospital, and Ahmed is two months old now. Still, the main thing which the auntie is excited to show us is how small he is. It’s true that in comparison to one of the other babies from Gaza who recently arrived, who is just 5 days old, Ahmed looks so small. Perhaps partially also due to the fact that he is bundled into many blankets!
Thank God that today is the day for Ahmed to be reunited with the rest of his family. The auntie was in very high spirits during the journey back to the Erez border, and it was good to spend some time with her during this joyful time.
Ahmed had three surgeries during his time here, and he will need regular follow up with the doctors. So please pray that he continues to heal, and that he will be blessed in the name of Jesus, who keeps his life.
In the secondary ICU, Archie recognized Ahmed straight away, but couldn’t quite believe what he saw. It was only a few days ago that this tiny baby was in the intensive care unit, connected to many cables and machines, recovering from his third open heart surgery. Today, Archie marveled at the beautiful healthy color of his face, and his big eyes which were now open. He looked more cheerful and happy, in a large shared room without the need for such a high level of support.
Archie joked with the Auntie that he wants to take Ahmed back to Wales with him, and she understood and laughed, despite the language barrier. She too looked transformed, and much more joyful and peaceful.
Thank God that Ahmed is finally well on the road to recovery
Whenever I see Ahmed and his dear aunt, I cannot help but to smile.
He looked like a different child, with his eyes wide open and his oxygen levels at the highest I have seen for him. No oxygen tubes, no feeding tubes. He still has a chest drainage system intact, but otherwise it makes me so happy to see his improvement. As of today, he is now drinking milk from the bottle!
One of his cardiac doctors mentioned that last Thursday evening, he developed seizure-like symptoms. Ahmed was treated with an anti-seizure medication. They performed a brain ultrasound and EEG for Ahmed today, and the doctors are waiting for the results. Despite this, he looks very well, and hopefully he will be transferred to a lower acuity unit soon.
Many of us marveled at Ahmed’s photo, as he looked like an entirely different child. I thought of how Christ died so that we could be a new creation, and to be born again–redeemed and renewed. 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 states,
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”
My prayer is for this to reign true in all of our lives.
Yesterday, Ahmed had his third big surgery. As we walked into the ICU, his Doctor told us they did a com-plete repair, and he should not have another surgery – praise God for that! His doctor told us to see for ourselves. As we entered the room, it became clear exactly what the doctor had meant by that.
Ahmed’s Doctors were performing an echo. They laughed together and seemed pretty relieved. But so much more, you could see the joy in the face of Ahmed’s Auntie. In German, I would say, “Sie strahlt wie ein Honigkuchenpferd“ – to grin like a Cheshire Cat. She was always kind and loving, but today you could see how much love she has for her nephew and how happy she is about this good news. One of the nurses told us they want to try to extubate him, which would also be very good news. We left a very happy auntie behind.
After a bit we came back and saw something beautiful. Ahmed had been extubated and was laying in his bed peacefully!
Earlier in the day, on our way to the hospital, Colin and I talked about how much we love Ahmed and his auntie. We agreed that both of them have been through a lot in the long time they have spent here. Ahmed has had to go through three surgeries so far; his patient auntie had to hear the words, ” Maybe we do the next surgery tomorrow,“ so often. I am more than happy for them. Praise God for His grace, that He is always working. May He bless them and surround them in the next day, so little Ahmed can completely recover.
Little Ahmad had his third surgery today. It is the third attempt to help his heart function well, as after the previous two surgeries, still the oxygenated blood hasn’t been traveling well around the body.
The auntie waited happily during the many hours of surgery. I think she is feeling very hopeful that this time will be the last of the surgeries, and we will be seeing progress with his healing. She has many of her own children at home in Gaza, whom she misses during this time, but she remains faithfully beside Ahmad.
Thank God that the report from the doctor after surgery is so far good. Please pray that this surgery will be a success, and Ahmad will recover and be able to return to his family soon.
Even though I’ve been quite a lot to the hospital lately, I never had the possibility to meet Ahmed from Gaza.
So today, when I saw him for the first time, I realized that his arms are not much bigger than my thumb. He is such a tiny little boy. It was lovely to meet his aunt, she was very happy to have us visiting him.
However, her mood changed quite quickly when she found out that her nephew will need a third surgery.I talked to his doctor to get a few updates and here is what he told me:
During the weekend they had tried to extubate him – without success. He was too weak. They performed some blood tests in order to find out if the little boy has some kind of virus. But the main issue is still that his BT shunt is too big. Most of the blood goes to the lungs and not to the organs and other parts of the body. They know for sure that he’ll need another surgery when he is stronger, however they have not yet decided what exactly they’re going to do as they have several options.
Please pray for strength for his aunt, so that she can get trough this difficult time together with Ahmed.
“I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.”
As I entered Ahmed’s hospital room, I was very happy to see him resting in his bed with his eyes open. I smiled at his cute little face and his auntie entered the room. Her face lit up as she came to greet me. Ahmed’s aunt has been by his side from the beginning, and she has given everything to keep him safe.
Only one day after his surgery, Ahmed is doing very well, but he is still intubated. Please pray.
Ahmed finally had his procedure to decrease the size of his previous BT shunt. After days of waiting, he had his revision surgery this morning. His aunt has been so patient and understanding. She appeared at peace when I saw her today and was so relieved to hear that Ahmed’s surgery was successful. Her smile and her praise to God for Ahmed’s health is beautiful. We pray that her joy will continue and multiply.
Please continue to pray for Ahmed, as his body adjusts to these revisions. They will continually monitor Ahmed and see if he is responding well, and if they will be able to extubate him soon, perhaps tomorrow.
Sorry, we do not have any photos of Ahmed from today, but here is an update so you all know how to pray:
Ahmed’s aunt is often walking around the unit, and it is wonderful to see her. It is nice to see her smile and to greet her, even if it is for a short time. This morning, when I saw her walking around, she said that Ahmed would have a surgery soon.
We later confirmed this with the doctors, and they said that they just planned for him to have surgery tomorrow. This is to adjust his previous surgery, as they will decrease the size of the BT shunt that helps redirect blood to his lungs and to improve his oxygenation.
Please pray for his aunt, who is caring for Ahmed diligently. Please pray for peace for the family, as Ahmed undergoes his second surgery.
Ahmed’s aunt and I fondly admired Ahmed’s little smile and beautiful eyes. They were planning on extubating him today, but we were waiting for him to be a little more alert prior to the procedure. While we were waiting, we held his little hand and he responded well by staring deep into our eyes. We could not but exclaim at how beautiful Ahmed is, and how thankful we were that he was able to finally have surgery.
A little later, they were able to extubate Ahmed. During this extubation they realized that there was an excessive amount of blood travelling to his lungs and almost re-intubated him, but they have started a medication and are hoping that his body will be able to adjust without surgical intervention.
Please pray for Ahmed’s family as they wait to see how Ahmed responds to these changes.
Archie and I saw the joyful face of Ahmad’s auntie as we stepped out of the lift this morning.
Prayers had gone up on behalf of Ahmad, asking that God would open the way for him to have a surgery, as his condition deteriorated, waiting for a bed space in the intensive care unit. Praise God as today that door was opened, and Ahmad’s surgery went ahead.
His patient auntie was so happy. Her face was lit up with a beautiful smile, as she explained that he is just 20 days old, but they want to do a very big surgery for him. She has waited on behalf of her family for over a week for his surgery to happen. All were growing anxious. Archie showed her a photo of Ahmed which he had on his phone and we all agreed that he was a very handsome boy. Thankfully, he is in the hands of God.
After the surgery, we visited him, and the doctor told us that he is stable. He looked so small, with beautiful porcelain skin and so much black hair! Lord willing, he may be extubated tomorrow.
Thank God for the successful surgery, and please continue to pray for Ahmed”s healing.
“He is so small!” These were the first words Ahmed’s smiling aunt said to me. What can I say, she is correct. But Ahmed is not only small, he is also incredibly cute. His beautiful little eyes rested on me as I was visiting him, and I couldn’t stop staring at his beautifully made face. Even though he is just a few days old, he had an awake and curious look in his eyes. Such a beautifully created and uniquely loved baby.
Ahmed is still waiting on the doctors to decide what kind of surgery they will perform, and in the meantime, the loving staff and his auntie are always by his side.
On his second day of life, newborn Ahmed’s parents rushed him to the hospital in Gaza after noticing he was blue. He spent nearly the next month in the ICU, waiting for someone to help him get to advanced medical care in Israel.
We heard of Ahmed this week, and waited all week for space to open up in one of the hospitals which performs heart surgery. Finally our friends at the Sheba Medical Center made every possible effort and opened up a free ICU bed on Thursday afternoon, just as everything was closing for the weekend.
Yousef and Amar though kept pushing and arranged for Ahmed’s transfer on Friday morning. Moshe reports that he and Frank were at the hospital to meet him:
Ahmad came today, and while we stayed outside as the nurse organized his room, we met his aunt, who looked worried. About hour later, we entered his room:
Ahmad was there, lying peacefully, everything calm. Before Shabbat there are just a few people available in hospital, and his room was peaceful and quiet.
The nurse said he is stable hemodynamically, and he is not eating except for an IV. They hope his surgery will be on Sunday.
Please pray that God will bless his time in Israel and keep him healthy, and that he will grow to be happy child.
Ahmed is a bright and cheerful boy. He’s shy and quick to be afraid, but when he’s comfortable he warms up strong to you. Our brother Willem met Ahmed when he was here last year, and he was very excited to meet Ahmed again–and although at first Ahmed was confused, he soon remembered! And he was happy to see Willem again.
Ahmed returned early for his follow-up because his leg is swelling up with liquid, and his Gaza doctors were concerned. However, his Sheba examiner decided it was nothing to worry about and not related to his heart condition or surgery–likely instead a drainage problem that he will grow out of. And indeed, although Ahmed’s step was a little affected, his mood was not, and he spent the whole time he was here running around and playing. He’ll return in six months for his next follow-up. In the meantime, pray for his continued healing and recovery!
