Wasim came back to us for his follow-up echo on Sunday. He’s a young man, twenty years old, only three years younger than me. It felt strange being in a position of responsibility for such a man; but he was gracious about it, so I tried to be as well.
He had some complaints about fatigue and nausea which the doctor took seriously, but she decided there was nothing major to be concerned about and sent him home with the expectation of returning in three months for his pacemaker clinic. I took him back to the border at Gaza, and there he made a point of shaking my hand before he left.
I look forward to seeing him again. We pray for his health!
Today was a day I have been looking forward to for quite a while. This morning I picked up our good friend Wasim. It has been a couple of months since he was last here. We meet at Erez with a warm handshake and a big hug.
An ECHO and an ECG at Sheba Hospital were the order of the day and a very welcome catch-up chat about how life is going in Gaza. I always enjoy our time together and the great conversation we have even if it is through Google translate.
Good news is Wasim is doing well and only has to come back in six month’s time. I thank God for such great friends and hope he continues after my dear friend Wasim. It is always great to see your blessings first hand.
Today, we thought Wasim from Gaza was supposed to have an echo at Sheba Hospital. However, there was a bit of a mix up about the appointments, and he had to have a pacemaker appointment instead. His aunt and uncle came to help him with his appointment, which was a great encouragement to him, and a great help to me since they speak Hebrew and made friends with all the doctors.
The pacemaker doctor said that Wasim us doing very well, and that the changes they made to his pacemaker are working out beautifully. Wasim doesn’t have very many restrictions on what he’s allowed to do now, and he only has to come back for an echo in January.
After his appointment his aunt and uncle left and I had to pick up some medicine for him, which meant that he was left alone for almost two hours. He didn’t complain at all. However, he was very happy to go back home to Gaza this evening.
He has made some good friends in our community during his stay here, including coworkers Jakob and Craig. Please pray that this young man will continue to do well after he returns home.
Wasim and I went to Sheba Medical Center this morning to have his pacemaker checked. In the waiting area, we talked about our life situations.
Since we’re a similar age, it was interesting to get to know his perspective. He told me that he would like to go to university to get the qualifications for an IT job. I told him that I also want to go to university soon. What a good conversation!
The doctor’s assistant confirmed that everything was fine with the pacemaker for now. Wasim has an echo appointment next week. Until next Thursday, he will stay at our guesthouse in Ashdod. I’m already looking forward to further discussions with him!
This morning, we picked up Wasim from the Gaza border crossing and brought him to Sheba hospital for an echo. He made the trip to Israel by himself but was met at the hospital by his lovely aunt, who helped him through the whole process of the appointment.
Wasim’s echo today looks good and his cardiologist says he is generally well. He needs to come back in six months for another echo and a check-up for his pacemaker, but for now he can go home to life as usual in Gaza.
Wasim had an echo at Sheba hospital this morning, followed by an appointment to check his pacemaker. The doctors reported very good results from both appointments, and Wasim will return for another checkup in six month’s time.
Coworker Joanne and I really appreciated Wasim’s positive attitude and the attention he gave to little Hassan, another patient from Gaza, during a long day at the hospital.
Yesterday, I had the privilege to meet Wasim and his mother for the first time. Both of them are lovely and very friendly and helpful. I’m glad that I had the chance to meet them and I’m happy that they could spend a day with our community in Jerusalem.
I am even happier that Wasim had a full and detailed Echo-cardiogram today and that the outcome of it was good. He was released to return to Gaza and his lovely family waiting there today. However, he needs to inhale with inhalation spray to help him with his breathing, and the doctors at Sheba Medical want to see him again after six months.
Praise the Lord that he is doing so well. And thank you all for your prayers for this young man.
Wasim, who is now 18 years old, has been unable to get permission to exit the Gaza border and enter Israel in time for a previous appointment, and therefore today is the first time he has been to Sheba hospital since his discharge in June of last year. Alena and I remember his surgery day very well; twelve difficult hours in the OR, and the miraculous outcome that he is alive and well.
His mum told me today that it has also been difficult to see a doctor in Gaza during this time. Thankfully he has been reasonably well, although has some pain at the site of the pacemaker and sometimes his breathing isn’t easy.
Due to the long journey out of Gaza, through the Erez border crossing and into Sheba, Wasim was only able to attend his pacemaker check today. The brief outcome is that everything is working well with the pacemaker. He needs to have a full and detailed Echo with the Cardiologist, who wants the time to carry out this full assessment for him, therefore it was rescheduled for Wednesday of this week.
In the meantime, we are happy to enjoy the company of Wasim and his upbeat and kind mother at our home in Jaffa and then In Jerusalem tomorrow. As soon as they arrived to our home, Wasim’s mum insisted on whipping up a dinner for 14 people of a delicious maqluba.
We look forward to the Echo and knowing more about his condition.
Following his heart surgery a couple of months ago, Wasim came back to Israel yesterday for a follow-up echo. The disappointment of missing yesterday’s appointment turned into a surprise blessing – Wasim spent the night at our Shevet house in Jaffa, giving his mum a chance to see the beautiful Jaffa beach and toget to know our community a little bit.
Today we left bright and early for what turned out to be a long hospital day. First, Wasim had an echo and then his doctor decided to send him to another building for a pacemaker check. In all the waiting, appointments and walking back and forth, the two of them were so much fun to spend time with; in fact, by the end of the day I almost forgot we spoke different languages. Both Wasim and his mum have an incredible sense of humour that seems to cross the language barrier.
Wasim’s mum is an amazing woman. She is a mother of eight, and her love for each of them was obvious by the way she talked, a huge smile spreading across her face as she mentioned them by name.
After a good echo and pacemaker check, Wasim was able to go home to Gaza. It is so good to see how much he has improved since he first came to Israel. He will come back again in six months for another appointment. As we parted, his mother thanked us over and over again. Her deep gratitude and love really touched me and left me thankful for the time God had given us together.
Nearly two months after coming to Israel for his urgent surgery, Wasim and his joyful mother were finally cleared today to return to Gaza. Georgia and Alena were both on hand to wrap up their faithful ministry to this family, with Alena calling Wasim’s mother “my favorite lady ever.”
Wasim is looking much stronger than when we saw him taking his stroll outdoors nearly a week ago (see blog below). But this week doctors at Sheba wouldn’t let him go home until they made sure we had provided all the medicines he will need back in Gaza. Many phone calls and emails were exchanged; Wasim’s mother agreed with us today, this is a sign of how much they love him!
Wasim’s aunt left Gaza years ago to marry and live in Israel, and she was choking back tears today as she said her farewell to these relatives that she can otherwise never see:
We had good conversation on the drive back to the Gaza Strip checkpoint; we’ve agreed to keep in touch, and told the family we expect an invitation to Wasim’s wedding in one, or at most two years.
Friends, in the the blogs below you’ll see Wasim was between life and death following his difficult and lengthy heart surgery. So you’ll understand it was such a joy to find him today out walking in the sunshine outside the Sheba Medical Center!
Today at Sheba Medical Center, I saw the bright smile of Wasim’s mum when she walked into the waiting area. Behind her sat Wasim in a wheelchair, being pushed by a nurse. I ran over to greet them. This was my first time meeting Wasim so I introduced myself. I showed him a picture of co-worker Georgia and said that we were both here for his surgery day. He answered with the usual Arabic courtesies which apply when first meeting someone. It was so good to finally meet him. He is still healing, so please continue to pray for this precious boy.
It’s always hard to see children recovering after surgery, particularly if it was as long and hard as his was. But with older children, like teenagers, it is really very hard, because they are so aware of everything going on. His mother remains positive and is so devoted to Wasim. We are so thankful for them and for the care he is getting at Sheba.
Jana, one of the German Shevet volunteers who is back in Germany, sent me a song to give Wasim and his mum. I recognized her Jana’s voice immediately as I heard it many times leading worship while she was serving here. She was singing the blessing from Numbers 6, and now I will always associate it with this dear family:
It has been some time since we have been allowed to visit Wasim’s mother due to the corona virus restrictions, although we have had the pleasure of seeing her for some brief moments in the hospital.
Thank God for continuing to give his mother a beautiful, generous and patient spirit during this difficult time.
We heard today that Wasim was back in the operating room, as the doctors found he required the placement of a pacemaker. Thankfully, this surgery was much more straight forward than the previous, although it must have brought back many memories for his mother. It was a joy to hear that after only a few hours, Wasim was back in the ICU, and beginning to recover.
Please continue to pray for Wasim and thank God that He is upholding his life.
Praise God that Wasim has been extubated, less than a week after his massive surgery. The staff at the hospital expect that his recovery will be fairly slow, however this is a really good step for him.
He doesn’t appear to be having seizures any longer, although his neurological state will continue to be monitored and, we must pray, will improve.
Our precious Wasim remains stable with no significant change from the weekend. The staff at Sheba continue to care for him with excellence and his wonderful mother remains calm and strong.
I saw Wisam’s mother today at Sheba Medical Center. She was so happy to see co-worker Georgia and I, and it felt like seeing our sister. She spoke of his improvement as being little by little, under diffecult circumstances. I was struck by her joy in the midst of pain.
When we got home, and co-worker Amar asked if she was okay or not doing well. I could honestly answer yes, there was nothing in her countenance which denoted hopelessness or anger. Please keep praying for Wasim and his mother, our dear sister.
It was clear by the many phone calls to Wasim’s mum throughout the day that this 17 year old boy is loved and dear to many people. Every few minutes his mother’s phone rung with friends and family wanting to know how the surgery was going. This day was a 13 hour battle for Wasim’s life. The operation had many purposes, one of which was to replace the conduit in his heart, which he had been placed there when he was a baby.
He was taken into surgery at 8:30 and it didn’t finish until 23:00. This was a really big surgery, but his mother was amazing throughout all of it. It was a beautiful time that Georgia and I had, being family with her, like she called us her sisters, and we feel the same about her. You don’t walk through these circumstances with someone without forming a deep bond comparable to that of a family. We spent the morning talking and it was easy and light. Her and I gave each other dual Arabic and English lessons by writing simple sentences in each. We found out that when she said she ate coffee, she was not trying to say she drinks coffee, but she really eats the Turkish coffee! She said all her family did this! In everything Wasim’s mother was an absolute delight.
Georgia and I had to bring another family to Gaza in the afternoon, but we got back at 18:00 and still he was not out of surgery. From this time she was anxious and wanting nothing but to see her boy. Shortly before Wasim was ready to come out of the operating room, the ICU doctor came into to talk with his mum and explained that his blood pressure was very low, and for this they considered putting him on the ECMO machine, but they must wait and see.
Finally, he was brought out of the O.R. and the doctor came back to say that he was actually better than before, thank God. As we relaxed we got the information, that although hemodynamically he was stable, there might be bleeding in his brain and therefore needed a CT scan. Georgia and I felt the Holy Spirit lead in asking her to pray with us for him and this CT. All day people had been fighting for his life, and we felt led to petition the Lord for a clear CT, that there would be no damaging or hemorrhage. So we prayed together, saying to our Father your will be done, no matter what. If He decides otherwise that is His business, but full healing is what we will ask for.
After another half hour, he was brought back to his room, and the doctor came in to say that there was only a little bleeding in his brain, thank God. After this we all breathed a sigh of relief. Georgia and I returned to the base at one a.m. Upon calling the ICU this morning, Georgia was told by the nurse that Wasim is still not well, though his level of bleeding remains small, he is now having seizures.
As I write this I remember vividly the worry and love in his mother’s eyes. Like her whole existence hinged on his. So please, enter into this with her through pray. Pray that he will come through this. I’m thankful for the precedent of the long history of saints who prayed boldly. Like how Jesus taught us to pray by starting with our Father, meaning he would lay down his sonship so we could take it up. And His Father is now ours.
With God as our Father, and the relationship is incredibly intimate- what other relationship could you wake up the person in the middle of the night and ask for a glass of water? None but a father and his child. He doesn’t begrudge us good things, and he does give us everything we ask according to His will for us, because He can see the whole picture but we only have an infinitesimal piece. Nevertheless, he does command us to petition Him. Therefore, let us ask Him boldly then for Wasim’s life to be restored. For in Him all things are made, and in Him all things hold together.
Wasim is a 17 year old boy from Gaza, who has been waiting for an appointment at Wolfson Medical Center. But each time he would apply to get into the hospital, he was denied.
For the last week, we were trying to get him urgently accepted at Sheba Medical Center and on Friday, they told us there was a bed available for him.
We contacted the authorities at Erez border crossing while they were in the middle of their Friday prayers. After expressing to them the urgency of this boy’s case, they agreed to help him and began working on his permission. Praise God, Wasim arrived at ten pm on Friday night. He received a CT scan today, and is waiting in the ICU until the doctors make a plan for his surgery. Praise the Lord, he is stable.
I had the pleasure to be one of his first visitors along with co-worker Yusef. We entered his room and were astonished, as this young man didn’t look like a seventeen year old. He is very weak, has a small body, his voice is shaky and his eyes are very sad. So we recognized at the first moment how ill he is, and how urgently he needs help. His tough mother stood loyally by his side and doesn’t let him out of her sight. It’s a wonder, how strong she is. But she must… for herself and for her son.
Please pray for this lovely duo, that they can get the help they have been needing for a very long time.
Doctors in Gaza contacted us this week with an urgent appeal to rescue 17-year-old Wasim, who was in heart in the ICU in Gaza. Wasim had surgery in Israel as a baby, but was never followed up, and now the conduit placed long ago was far too small for his grown heart.
Our Gaza team pushed with all their strength to get Wasim to Israel and he arrived at the Sheba Medical Center Friday night, after the Sabbath had already arrived. And thank God, because Sunday the crossing from the Gaza Strip was closed by authorities there over fears of the coronavirus.
Wasim came back to us for his follow-up echo on Sunday. He’s a young man, twenty years old, only three years younger than me. It felt strange being in a position of responsibility for such a man; but he was gracious about it, so I tried to be as well.
