Beautiful Mira went home to Hebron on Thursday. It has been a tumultuous first two months of life for her. She has had a catheterization at two weeks old, was rushed to the hospital not once but twice after deteriorating back in Hebron, and she’s had an emergency surgery that saved her life just in time.
In light of this, her recovery is certainly a gift from God and today her release from the hospital was a joyous occasion. Please pray for her heart to remain healthy, so that she can be with her mom, dad, and siblings.
The first time I met Mira’s dad, he glowed with pride as he showed me pictures of his children he loves, especially the pictures of his older son and daughter holding Mira. I imagine that at their homecoming, there will be more pictures such as this and a celebration to match them.
I pray for Mira’s family to reflect in and know that all the joy and love of this reunion is because of our God.
Baby Mira has been moved from the Sheba Medical Center Childrens’ ICU to the Pediatric Ward floor. She and her father are now sharing a room with Ziad, a child from Gaza and his dad; these two fathers are good friends which is a lot of fun.
Mira’s dad proudly showed pictures of his family, which included many of his three children together. He is hoping to return home to them in Hebron soon. Please continue in your prayers for this little one, that her healing may be complete and the family reunited.
Today, I visited cute little Mira and her dad at Sheba Medical Center. Mira’s dad was asleep when I arrived, so I couldn’t talk to him. I just went into their room quietly and looked at Mira. She was also sleeping peacefully.
Sadly, the doctors had to take precious Mira from the fourth floor to the sixth floor (ICU) again, due to a problem with her lungs. Hopefully it can be resolved quickly and easily. This also means she will not soon be discharged.
We need your prayers for this precious and strongly fighting Mira, that she will recover well and for her dad who is sad and hoping for a discharge very soon. Thank you.
Today I visited Mira and her dad at Sheba Medical Center. He told me that she is doing much better. He thought that maybe she could be discharged tomorrow but it‘s not sure yet.
The doctors will have to check her again and they will decide if they can return to Gaza already this week. Hoping and trusting our Father in heaven, we pray that he will do the best according to His will for the sake of His glory for this little one.
Great news awaited us when we found Mira’s dedicated father by her side today: for the last 24 hours she has been breathing on her own! This is a huge step forward in her recovery from the emergency repair of her Tetralogy of Fallot heart defect. Medical staff are waiting to see if this will continue; please join in our prayers that the Giver of breath will complete his good work in Mira’s life.
Today Jonathan and I were visiting Mira and her dad. Right now she still has to get oxygen by a ventilator. When they tried to let her breathe on her own it wasn‘t eso they had to reconnect her to the respirator. But the dad was really convinced that if God wants than he will help Mira to get better. So please pray for little Mira and the continuing of her recovering.
I saw Mira’s father today, who invited me to come and visit her in the intensive care unit. I was surprised to learn that she had been put into the ICU, as when I saw her yesterday she didn’t seem too unwell, and I thought that the cardiologist had requested to admit her to hospital more as a precaution.
However, her father told me that her oxygen levels had dropped very low, down to 40%, and that Mira had been intubated. It was so unexpected!
When we approached her room, we stood outside the glass door, and watched about 5 people standing around her bed, as she had an echo. The father said that they had been in there for about an hour and a half. Suddenly one of the nurses came out and told the father that there was a problem with blood in her lungs, and that they needed to take her immediately into an open-heart surgery. Her dad took a few seconds to process this information; it was a complete shock. Her room filled with staff bringing oxygen tanks and various pieces of equipment.
We watched as the team worked so wonderfully together to fight for the life of Mira, preparing to transfer her into the operating room. Occasionally we were able to catch glimpses of her; her tiny body looked limp, grey and blue.
Mira was nearly six hours in the operating theatre, and when she reached the ICU doctors there explained that the surgery brought her back from the brink of death.
Thank God for the wisdom of the doctors yesterday and today, and that in His timing, Mira returned to the hospital, just in time to save her life.
Mira returned today from Hebron to Sheba Hospital for a follow-up echo accompanied by her father. The doctor found that Mira and her heart were not in good condition, her oxygen levels dropping quite low. This was enough to send her and her dad downstairs to the Respiratory Emergency Department for further assessment, and resulted in her being hospitalised overnight.
It was a surprise for her dad, but he accepted the outcome calmly, also recognising a few other fathers who were around the department. Prayers for this little one are appreciate.
Friday afternoon as the Shabbat was drawing near our partners at the Sheba Medical Center asked us to return newborn Mira to her home in Hebron, on a hilltop overlooking the ancient burial site of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Jacob and Leah:
Mira had been rushed immediately after birth to the ICU in Hebron, and then to Israel for a life-saving catheterization. We were privileged now to be eyewitnesses of the first time her mother was ever able to hold her:
Families like these sometimes tell us that when you form a relationship with them, you’re actually reaching a whole clan of five thousand. The impact of each little life, multiplied like the loaves and fishes. Command the blessing Lord, life forevermore!
Little Mira has been waiting in the Sheba Medical Hospital Intensive Care Unit for a while now to be made ready for an intervention. Today was the day, and from early in the morning, for three hours the doctors worked on her with a catheterisation, to be able to dilate some blood vessels and help give her a chance to grow stronger.
It was good to meet her father, who explained that her heart problem is complex. It was also good to hear the happy news together from the doctors that she appears to be recovering very well as she wakes up.
We are hopeful that she will recover and grow strong, as we see what next steps are needed for her.
Doctors worked today to gain understanding of the complex anatomy of Mira’s heart, including a CT scan. Until they come up with a surgical plan next week, Mira remains snug and secure in the ICU.
Thank God, today precious Mira was safely transferred into the loving hands of the team at the Sheba Medical Center. Doctors will be stabilizing her and reassessing her heart condition in order to develop a plan of treatment.
Mira was hospitalized in Hebron when doctors discovered her heart defects shortly after her birth. On the second day she developed severe cyanosis and had to go on a ventilator. Later she was again able to breathe on her own, but kept alive pending surgery only through an intravenous medication to keep a ductus open in her heart.
After a wait of two weeks the hospitals in nearby Jerusalem still had no beds available for Mira, so we turned to our partners at the Sheba Medical Center, Israel’s largest hospital. Our coworker Amar is working to arrange her urgent transfer.
