Today I met a nice boy with long brown curly hair from Gaza. He came to Sheba Hospital for an ultrasound and EKG.
Anas was so sweet, patient and went through everything very calmly.
Anas looked with interest at the monitor and the lines on it. When he was able to get to the doctor, Anas got the great news that he doesn’t have to return to the hospital. No longer need medicines. In other words, he’s doing very well.
With a hug and high five, Anac said goodbye to the doctor. God be believed and praised. We wish Anas all the best.
Since Anas arrived two days ago, I’ve been texting his mother. She knows Shevet Achim really well and she knows Sheba and Anas’s cardiologist very well also. As we talked throughout this time, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of satisfaction that even if she wasn’t here with him this time, she knew he was in good hands.
The cath yesterday went very well at Sheba Medical Center’s Children’s hospital. God willing he will no longer have episodes of tachycardia.
Anas was discharged early this afternoon and went back to Gaza with his grandmother.
It was really special to look after Anas in this time, it was like an honor to look after the child of a close friend. Anas is a beautiful boy. Everyone who knows him loves his gentle and playful personality.
Please pray for him as he grows over these next months until he returns to Sheba hospital for a check up.
Today coworker Bria and I drove to Sheba Medical Center in the morning with Anas for an ablation catheterization at the Adult Heart Institute. Ablation is treatment of heart’s arrhythmias by burning. Anas experiences heart arrhythmia called Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT).
After the ablation, the doctor explained to us that the ablation is for a fiber on the left side of the heart. Anas’s heart has a fiber that is running in one direction and the doctor can not see in a regular test if there is an improvement. Therefore we have to wait for the future to see if there is another episode of SVT or not. The doctor said that nine out of ten times, an ablation is successful to correct this problem.
Before the procedure, Anas was a bit nervous because of all the machines and wires around him, but a visit from a hospital clown helped cheer him up.
After the cath, Anas slowly woke up and cried. A nurse gave him some gifts, a tractor and a car, which the nurse bought with his own money during the ablation.
After about an hour and a half, Anas started smiling at the doctor as we drove back to the pediatric ward.
The doctor remembered Anas from the last time he was here, and so did I.
Anas can stop his medication from now on. We hope that Anas’s heart will work in good rhythm and that he will be healthy and happy.
Anas arrived from Gaza and came to stay at our house today and make it to an ablation appointment at Sheba Medical Center tomorrow.
Anas’s grandmother is very sweet and she said it’s her first time in Israel. She was very thankful for us. Also Anas is a very sweet six year old boy. He was smiling at us all the time.
A few months ago Anas came to Israel as an electrophysiology referral. While he was here his cardiologist was able to manage his tachycardia with two medicines. Today’s check up showed that the medications are working well and his condition is stable enough to continue with this, rather than have him undergo a catheterization ablation which is better done when older.
Anas and his mum are always a delight. They were like a breath of fresh air when they stayed with us a few months ago, and today was the same. We will see them again in six months for another follow up at Sheba.
Anas was discharged from Sheba Hospital today. He has been re-started on his medication and will stay at the Shevet house for a week to be monitored. If no problems arise, he and his mom can return to Gaza in a few days.
While I brought the car to pick them up, Anas, his mother, and co-worker Sabrina were sitting outside the hospital. Anas befriended an orange cat that made the grassy area outside the children’s hospital her home turf. Last week, when he was discharged, he managed to endear her by giving her some strawberry yogurt, and this time it looks like she remembered him!
Later on, after we returned to Shevet, I found Anas sitting on the couch, cuddled up with our dog Shevie! His gentleness and fascination with animals is a beautiful quality and one that I saw very clearly today.
On this past Friday night, Anas entered into a prolonged episode of tachycardia. Thankfully he was wearing his Holter Minister so the episode was able to be documented.
Co-worker Colin and I were sitting in our room, each doing separate things, when she abruptly told me “We need to go to the hospital.”
Anas’ mother had texted Colin to tell her about his heart rate going up to two hundred. Colin waited with Anas’ and his mother until a room was ready and he could be admitted to Sheba Hospital.
Today, the doctors decided that it is best to wait on an intervention catheterization until he is a bit older and has a chance to gain weight. So he will be restarted on his medicine that controls these episodes, and after some oftime being monitored in the hospital,might be possible for him to return to Gaza.
At a time in our community with little staff and many families and a very busy schedule, Anas and his mother have been truly a joy to have with us. Today he went to the hospital for an Echocardiogram and took his remote control car with him! He was playing with it while we waited, and later on he was doing a project with one of the hospital social workers. Wherever Anas is, the area is brighter for his presence.
Sweet Anas was discharged today for continued observation of his tachycardia. Please pray that the doctors will be able to extract from the results of an episode, enough information to best figure the plan of treatment.
All along the way, the electrophysiologist has been so helpful, willing, and kind; we know Anas is in the best hands.
He enjoyed coming back to our Jaffa coast Shevet house and has just returned from the park with his mom and co-worker Colin.
Last night, at about 1:30 a.m., five year old Anas experienced an episode where his heart rate went up to 200. We were halfway to Sheba Hospital when it went back to normal and stayed in a good range for the rest of the night. This was an episode of Tachycardia, which is what he’s been experiencing for the past six months.
As soon as he went into the Tachycardia, his mother knew right away that something was wrong and called our Shevet nurse Colin. It was quite scary, but his mother said that this was how it would happen in Gaza as well. His heart rate would go from 200 then back to 70 and stay there.
Today he was admitted to the hospital for observation and various tests that will track episodes like last night and help establish the best plan of care for him.
As we waited for the admission, Anas slept for quite a bit of the time. He is such a sweet boy with a shy smile and a vibrant personality. Please pray that the tests will be sufficient in giving the doctors a clear plan of care and that further treatment would be possible so that he can flourish.
Anas is a five year old boy from Gaza. For the last six months he has been experiencing abnormal heart rhythms, and even once required cardioversion, a procedure that sends electrical shocks to his heart through electrodes.
He is no stranger to the Intensive Care Unit, frequently needing medical care. He has experienced so much recently, and yet he was still so trusting. We bonded immediately and he even held my hand as we walked through the hospital doors. He loved the red car in the vital signs room and was hesitant to leave the car.
Praise God he is relatively stable with the medications he is receiving. Hopefully he will be able to be fully assessed to determine how he can be cared for in the best way possible. I am very thankful for doctors and hospital staff in Israel, specifically at Sheba Medical Center, anawho advocate for these children from Gaza, and for people who genuinely care.
Anas will be staying with Shevet Achim in Jaffa for the weekend, until further arrangements can be made. Please pray for Anas and his mother as they wait for the next step
Anas was so sweet, patient and went through everything very calmly.
With a hug and high five, Anac said goodbye to the doctor. God be believed and praised. We wish Anas all the best.
