Mohammed has had a PIC line inserted to keep him gaining weight. This process will take a few weeks, but the doctors decided that this was best to do before sending him home to Gaza. He needs to get bigger but he’s only tolerating a certain kind of formula which isn’t available in Gaza when he transitions there.
His dad has a group of other fathers who’ve been at the hospital long term like himself, and are eager to help any and everyone. This has been an important social outlet and support group for him. Sometimes little Mohammed accompanies him in the stroller while he is out and about.
This little one is being well looked after by all. Please continue to pray for him, especially for his body to grow lasting strong.
We often see Mohammed’s father around Sheba hospital. His trademark phrase is always ‘Do you want anything?’ He has been there such a long time now, he is part of the woodwork and appears to be enjoying himself, doing his best to be helpful to others who are in the hospital.
He was pleased to describe how much better it is for Mohammed to have the PEG rather than the NG tube. It was not pleasant for Mohammed to have lived with the tube across his face for so long.
There’s a bit of a feeling of change in the air for Mohammed though. His father and also the doctor are thinking it may soon be time for Mohammed to return home to Gaza. As Mohammed has been here for such a long time, there’s a lot to prepare for him to return. The more difficult item is his feeding pump, which we need to source, as it’s not likely available in Gaza. He needs this equipment long term, as he doesn’t feed orally at all.
Still, the father of Mohammed seems to be feeling as positive as ever. We hope they can be reunited as a family soon!
Mohammed’s days in the hospital have been rolling on, with slow progress for him. What is clear, is that he is very small and underweight still. He has been feeding via NG tube for a long time, and needs to continue with enteral feeding. As this looks to be for a long time into the future, it is better for this to be via a PEG. Its manageable to work with this in Gaza, it’s just taken some time to have the surgery scheduled as it requires time in the ICU, and the surgery is not considered to be as urgent as some others. However today was the day for Mohammed, and I had the surprise to see him and his father in the ICU this afternoon, having had the PEG surgery. It’s a big step for Mohammed, as it means it brings him closer to being able to return home to Gaza. What a day that will be!
Mohammed’s father told me yesterday that he is dressing the baby in new or different clothes every day so that he isn’t spending every day in hospital pyjamas.
He is also out and about quite a lot from the room in his pushchair. The hospital staff told us today that he is waiting for a date for a gastrostomy surgery. After this, it’s likely that he could return to Gaza. Thank God for his healing hand, as we see Mohammed growing slowly and getting better.
A week ago I had the privilege to collect the father of Mohammed from Erez, to bring him back to his lovely son. The father took some rest for himself back in Gaza with his family for a few weeks. When I brought him to Mohammed’s room at Sheba hospital, he was very happy to see his little boy again. During Mohammed’s father’s absense, an anut took loving care of tiny little Mohammed. She said she loves him like her own son. I think we all are witnesses of her loving regard for Mohammed. We witnessed it many times while visiting her. We all enjoyed visiting her and tiny Mohammed in the hospital. Co-worker Georgia described this aunt once as “the queen of calm” and I think that description is exactly right for her. Each time we were a bit stressed in the hospital, we knew we would be calmed if we went to visit her. But even if she loves Mohammed with her whole beautiful heart, she is tired as well after her two months with him and is leaving him with one sad and with one happy eye. Mohammed is still in the process of growing and it takes time. So it is good that his father is back now with new strength and patience for his cute son. Mohammed’s father and the aunty were happy as well when they saw each other and they were laughing and talking a lot together.
All of us enjoy visiting Mohammed and his great aunty immensely at Sheba hospital. Mohammed’s aunt is light-hearted and generally wonderful company. She told us today about a situation in the hospital to which she had responded “Let God see me!,”which is a beautiful reminder from this strong, wise lady. Man looks at the outside, but God looks at the heart. And she certainly has a selfless and beautiful heart.
The baby Mohammed is looking chubbier each time we see him, I’m sure. He had a visit from a physiotherapist who whispered that he is her favourite child, as she encouraged him to reach out to hold a toy monkey. This was an absolute delight as its the first time for me that I’ve seen him be so responsive and showing some real enjoyment of something.
Thank God for this family and the blessing it is to know them both.
Today we found Mohammed in the intermediate stage of the cardiac ICU. He had a diagnostic catheterisation and the rersults pleased the attending cardiologist. The information has helped them to form a change in treatment plan, which hopefully will lead to improvements for this very small boy. He still is not growing well yet, and his heart had been showing signs of failure.
It was a joy for co-worker Carina and I to spend some time with Mohammed’s aunt today. She asked after everyone at Shevet Achim, and was excited to hear that it had been the birthdays of both co-workers Alena and Sabrina since we last saw each other. She of course blessed them with her prayer for a beautiful year and life and to have many children, for all of us. A generous blessing from this special lady who does not have her own children, yet has been willing to step in on multiple occasions for various family members to care for their children.
She enquired after the children we mutually know and we shared how shocked and sad we all had been to hear about the death of one of the other patients. I was happy to hear, if I understood her correctly, that Mohammed’s father had visited the family in Gaza whose child had passed away. Mohammed’s father has always shown himself to be a good and caring man with a kind heart, and it made me think about the blessing of friendships which form in the hospital between these families who walk through such difficult, emotional and long days together.
As we left, Carina and I agreed with the auntie’s expression, that it is too early to be leaving each other, and we wished for longer and more time to spend together. She is a big blessing for Mohammed and also for all people who meet her.
Please pray that Mohammed will gain strength and recover, and that God will surround his beautiful family.
Mohammed and his great aunt are in a new room at Sheba hospital, with another lovely Arab family from Jaffa. The aunty explained to them our work as an organisation, and it was very nice to meet them. We ate baklava together, which sweetened the day even more so. Of course, the aunty is happy there. She is a very content lady, patiently holding Mohammed day after day. She proudly told us that he has increased from 2kg to 3kg during the time in which she has been with him.
The father of Mohammed is due to return soon, after his few weeks back home in Gaza. The doctors are asking for him to bring a blood sample from his wife, and also to provide a blood sample for himself, both of which would be sent for genetic testing. This will hopefully inform them of how to develop a treatment plan for the baby, in terms of the jaundice.
So far, he does seem to have turned a bit of a corner with his weight gain and oral feeding, which means hopefully they would not need to start him with PEG feeding. We felt today that he does look fuller in the face, and his hair is finally growing a little. He looks more grown up, if that’s possible to say of such a small boy, and he is almost smiling. He makes lovely eye contact, and I hope he enjoyed our time together as much as I did.
Thank God for the faithful and loving aunty and the doctors working hard to make sure Mohammed recovers.
Despite the language barriers associated with visiting parents or other relatives in hospital, it is always nice to visit them and communicate with them in some way. When co-worker Carina and I visited little Mohammed and his loving great aunt today, she was happy to tell us that Mohammed has gained weight. He is now eating a little on his own, but is still mainly fed through the nasal tube.
Every time we visit her, she is very happy about it and offers us to sit down. This time, too, she asked how everyone was doing back at the community house and that we should send them her love. This extremely kind woman is filled with God’s love and patience.
The results of the liver biopsy done for Mohammed are not in yet. The only thing Mohammed’s great aunt told us was that the blood in his liver artery was clotted. This can possibly be solved with medicine. The VSD has thankfully become smaller and therefore his heart can now supply the body with blood better than it could before.
However, your prayers are still needed for precious little Mohammed, that the results of the liver biopsy will come quickly and that the doctors will know what is wrong with Mohammed, as his coloring is yellowish. Thank you for your prayers.
Probably I could write on every blog that it is absolutely lovely to visit the parents that are in the hospital at this moment. But the truth is, that is how I feel. Every parent is just so lovely and made so different by our heavenly father. It makes me think of how beautiful God created all parents and all of us with different weaknesses and strengths. I love to think about it and how everything is fitting so much together in the end.
When I visited Sheba Hospital today to see little Mohammed, it was lovely to see the cute little guy lying in his tiny bed, with his eyes open. He’s such a cute boy and it was lovely as well to see his great aunt.
She is an extremely friendly person. Everytime I visit her, she is so smily and happy, and asks over and over again how I am. For me that means that it is not just a phrase for her, but that she is really interested in me. She is also everytime asking how everyone is within our Jaffa community and asks me to give them her greetings. We communicate everytime with a Translation application on our phones, which is sometimes very funny because it is not the best option to communicate with each other, but at least there is a way.
Today she told me that they want to do a liver biopsy for Mohammed because he is still quite yellow. It is possible his father is coming back in the next few days or weeks.
Please pray for this lovely little boy that the doctors can figure out what is causing his yellow color and for his whole family to be patient about the whole situation since Mohammed is in the hospital for a long time now.
]It was a happy reunion at Sheba Hospital today for co-worker Alena and I to sit again with Mohammed’s great aunt. Despite the fact that the majority of the time she was with us she was in isolation, we really did immediately like each other. So it was fun to sit together again. She offered us the delicacies available as a greeting (two chocolate yoghurts), which opened our morning together.
Mohammed was looking tiny, peaceful and cute in his yellow pajamas and massive blanket. We had a good look at him together and agreed he is just like a tiny bird. His little legs are so thin; he is still receiving all his nutrition from a feeding tube. He is also still looking quite yellow, although an improvement from the previous week, so it seemed to me.
Thank God for the joyful and dedicated aunty! She is making friends with her neighbors in the hospital, and when she needs to communicate, she is remembering the few Hebrew words she has acquired from her previous times in Israel.
Thank you so much all who prayed with us for Mohammed and his father. I’m sure you all knew from previous blogs how Mohammed’s father needed a little reprieve from the hospital and would exchange places with Mohammed’s great aunt. I had an additional perspective on this event that I wanted to share.
We collected Mohammed’s father from Sheba hospital yesterday. He was holding his son in his arms the whole time. How beautiful to see this demonstrative paternal love! Mohammed’s great aunt, who arrived and quarantined in Jaffa a few days before, is now with little Mohammed in hospital. The father is very blessed and thankful for this possibility. Before leaving Israel for Gaza, after leaving the hospital, he was shortly in Jaffa; there long enough to say good bye, have some coffee, visit with volunteers and stroll on the beach. We had a wonderful time together.
We bless this father with rest! Thank you for continued prayers for Mohammed, that he can return to his family soon, healthy and whole!
Today the father of little Mohammed returned back to Gaza to tend to his family. He was torn over going home without his son and the prospect of seeing his five other children.
Mohammed’s great aunt came on Thursday and quarantined at our Jaffa house while awaiting the results of her corona test from the hospital before taking over his guardianship of Mohammed at Sheba Hospital.
We stopped at the Jaffa house to drop off another family which gave Mohammed’s dad a little time to breathe before the drive back to Gaza, which I think he enjoyed. All five Shevet volunteers were at the community house at that time. Before leaving for the final leg of our trip, to the Erez border crossing, we had about an hour left, so Mohammed’s dad and co-worker Sebastian went to the beach briefly. It was a good moment of reflection and peace, especially for Mohammed’s dad.
When co-worker Georgia and I drove him back to the border, he expressed his sadness in returning without his son. This echoed what he was saying earlier in the drive. His words were, “our children are the most precious things in our lives.”
Please pray for Mohammed’s recovery. He will need time to practice feeding. The doctors will see if he needs a PEG, a feeding tube, to help him eat. Please pray.
Pray also for Mohammed’s family and his great aunt who is with him now and learning about living life in the hospital.
Our precious Mohammed is still not eating on his own and is being fed through a nasal canula. His father was happy to know that he will get some rest in the next few days, as I collected Mohammed’s great Aunt at the Erez border crossing and brought her to Sheba to exchange places with him for a time. All our children require a parent, guardian or chaperone of some kind and sometimes they need breaks.
Mohammed still likes just one specific pacifier. His great Aunt is extremely friendly and loves Mohammed a lot. I could feel that whilst I was visiting Mohammed with her today. She took care of him in a lovely way, and couldn’t stop looking and smiling at him.
Even though Mohammed is not eating on his own yet, thank God that at least he is getting better little by little which I witnessed myself today. His eye and head movement is improving. He was following my finger with his eyes and turned his head.
So thank you all for praying and please continue to keep this precious little boy in your prayers.
Today I visited little Mohammed and his father up on the fifth floor of Sheba Medical Center. This cute baby boy was sleeping when I came into their room and his father wanted to go outside for a bit of fresh air. So I offered to stay with Mohammed.
I could observe him and saw that his monitor signs were good. But his father also told me, as he came back to us, that the night was not so nice or restful, that Mohammed had a light fever and some emesis. This meant that Mohammed’s father, of course, could not sleep very well during those long hours.
Now, thank God, the little boy is better and resting. His father feels very tired and he would like to have some rest from hospital-life as well. The condition of our lovely baby is unchanged however. He is still getting some of his nutrition via nasal-gastric tube because Mohammed is yet unable to eat enough of what he needs.
We give this situation to our heavenly Lord! Please keep praying for Mohammed and his caring father.
The small Mohammed is still in the normal Pediatric Station at Sheba Medical Centre. The general condition of this lovely boy is stable. I didn’t get updates on changed procedures with him.
As I arrived at their room today, a nurse and a therapist were busy on his bed assisting Mohammed in his medical and physical activity. He, of course, was crying. After the exercises were finished, the therapist told me how good the therapy was for his development and explained to me how I can continue with this measure.
Mohammed is an intelligent little boy. He was following my voice by turning his head and looking at me with his inquisitive eyes. It was like a play for us together.
Mohammed is still also in the process of learning how to drink by himself. He had a different pacifier today, which should help him to restore his sucking process. But he loves just one of them. All the other he throws up! He knows what he likes.
Praise God that what was written in the last blog on the progress of our precious Mohammed, became true when he was moved to the normal Pediatric Station at Sheba Medical Center.
When Co-worker Carina visited him today, he was awake and wide-eyed and doing pretty well, all in all. Happily, he is no longer on the monitor. He doesn’t need full-time surveillance now and he is without oxygen assistance, which is absolutely great. For now his weightiest problem is that he is under-weight and still fed via a nasal-tube.
Having been moved to the normal Pediatric Station, it is lovely that Carina is now allowed to go into his room and spend some more time with Mohammed’s gentle father and little Mohammed himself.
One of the physio-therapists told us that they are trying to teach Mohammed the motions of eating again because it seems that our poor little boy has forgotten how to do it; re-learning this skill is vital to the weight-gaining process.
Therapists are doing little exercises that encourage Mohammed to turn his head, move his mouth, and his little eyes. Thank God that he is doing well so far, and thanks to those praying for this precious little boy and his father.
When I came to the Sheba Medical Center Pediatric Cardiac ICU to visit Mohammed and his dad, a nurse was checking him with a stethoscope. Then I went into the room and saw Mohammed awake, with opened eyes and without the ventilator. For me it was the first time seeing him since he had had his surgery and it was so encouraging to see Mohammed smiling and looking so good. Also his dad was very happy and told me that Mohammed is doing very, very well. Then little Mohammed was washed and dressed into some new clothes so I could take these nice pictures of him.
Another nurse came into the ICU area and told me that they want to move him out of the ICU today to the normal Pediatric Station and that they are thinking about discharging him and bringing him to a hospital in Gaza near their home.
Thank God for this quick and very good recovery process of Mohammed, please pray that it will continue.
When co-worker Carina and I went to the Children’s ICU of Sheba medical center to visit precious little Mohammed and his father today, he was already extubated.
One of the nurses told us more about his state and that cute Mohammed loves it when you talk to him and that it calms him down very easily and quickly when he’s crying because he loves this attention.
She told us as well, that his oxygen saturation was not sufficient enough to allow him to breath on his own. Therefore, controlled oxygen was administered. This is a nasal tube in which he receives extra oxygen from a machine.
PTL he doesn’t need medicine anymore during the day, but at night only and if it is necessary. They ended the ‘Total Parenteral Nutrition’ (TPN). Hopefully our beloved Mohammed can be moved to another floor very soon and continues to recover well. Your prayers for him and his father are much appreciated.
Our beloved Mohammed is still in the Pediatric ICU at Sheba Medical and still intubated. However, praise God, we received good news when co-worker Alena and I visited him today, which is that he can be extubated, Lord willing, in the next few days.
The nurse told us that before extubating is possible, they want to apply ‘Total Parenteral Nutrition’ (TPN), that is, more infusion per vein. Mohammed is a very small baby. We pray for more strength in his body. Please join us in this prayer.
When I went to the Sheba Medical Center ICU today to visit Mohammed, his father welcomed me. He was very friendly and still happy because Mohammed’s surgery yesterday went so well.
My Arabic is getting better “shwaie shwaie” (little by little) which is why I was able to ask the dad how Mohammed is and he told me he’s doing pretty well after the surgery yesterday.
PTL and please continue to pray for cute little Mohammed, that he will get better and stronger soon, and for his dad’s peace of mind.
Today it was the day for Mohammed to have his surgery, he has already had one surgery and one catheterization. After Mohammed was brought into the surgery room, his dad and I were waiting with some others in the waiting area directly near the door from which Mohammed would come out again after the surgery. So we knew that it would probably take about four or five hours and even if we didn’t communicate that much because of the language barrier, we just sat there waiting together for Mohammed’s return.
After about four hours, we asked a nurse about the surgery and he told us that it‘s just finished. It took again some time to prepare him to come out of the surgery room, but then finally, the doors opened and Mohammed was rolled out in his bed.
Following them to the ICU, they said that the surgery was successful. We had to wait again for Mohammed who was being connected to all the tubes and electrical appliances in his room. His dad was really happy about the good surgery, thanks to our heavenly Father! For now, Mohammed will stay in the ICU to recover from his surgery. Would you pray for him?
When we visited Mohammed today, he was even awake which was very nice. It was so cute to see him with his eyes opened. A nurse told us that it‘s not sure yet when the surgery will be and also what they will exactly do. So please pray for wissom to figure out and decide what to do.
As Mohammed’s father and I waited outside the cath lab this afternoon, we prayed that this new investigation would shed light on the reasons Mohammed is still unable to breathe on his own five weeks after his surgery. Suddenly a large medical team burst through the doors, hustling Mohammed back to the ICU:
When we caught up with them, they said they were finally able to see the causes of Mohammed’s difficulty, and doctors will put together a plan to take him back to surgery.
“Look how valuable your son is,” I told the father at one point. “Eight people are working on him at once.”
Today Jonathan and I visited Mohammed and his dad in the ICU. They have tried to take the ventilation with the oxygen away but he wasn’t able to breathe on his own. Dr. Sheron came in to look after Mohammed and check him. She will do his catheterization on Tuesday. So would you pray for him that he will recover and will come through his cath well on Tuesday?
Today we found Mohammed still intubated, with an elephant toy lovingly propped opposite him. His nursing staff tell us there’s still a long road ahead, with few signs of improvement at this point. The father adds that financial pressures are growing on the family while he is with his son and unable to work. Let’s continue to trust our Father for every need of this family which he loves.
Mohammed has been moved to a new department of the Intensive Care Unit of Sheba Medical Center, indicating that his condition is perhaps continuing to be stable.
However, he is still intubated, and this second period of intubation is for over a week now. He also has sepsis, so the medical team would like to carry out some investigations into why he has had so many infections; perhaps there is a problem with his immune system. He is still a very small boy, weighing only around 2 and 1/2 kg.
For today, it was nice to see his dad, who was politely welcoming to me. Mohammed has a toy mobile above his bed, and a few other little toys scattered around the room, signs of hope for a full recovery. Dad told me that Mohammed’s mum sees him every day in Gaza via video-call. They are apart from a long time now, but trusting that all the times are in God’s hands.
We understand that little Mohammed has had a difficult few days, still in the Intensive Care Unit of Sheba Medical Center. His oxygen levels have dropped and he has needed to be intubated again.
Please keep this little one in your prayers, that he would be granted the strength to fight back and receive a full recovery to the glory of God.
Today, I was able to visit little Mohammed and his dad in the Sheba Medical ICU. It was nice to see them and to see how Mohammed is doing.
He is recovering well, but very slowly his father said. He also took a very nice picture where you can see that Mohammed is still a happy baby despite his circumstances.
Let‘s persevere in prayer for him so that the good recovery process will continue.
Thank God little brave Mohammed is now stable. His father has said that he is getting a little bit better every day. He is recovering very slowly, but still this is good news for the little man.
Let us continue to pray for Mohammed and his father, that the little one will soon be well again and that the father will get strength from God to continue to get through all this.
We found Mohammed this afternoon under close observation, his faithful nurses telling us he is still not stable following yesterday’s surgery. Prayers are needed for him in these next 24 critical hours.
A very tiny boy is lying safely in bed, surrounded by tubes and machines tonight in the Sheba Medical Center Intensive Care Unit. After a week in the hospital here in Israel, the medical team made a plan for Mohammed to have a PA banding surgery, which was carried out successfully today. Thank God that Mohammed is in the safe hands of the expert ICU staff, and never forgotten by God.
His father is by his side and assured me that his mother back in Gaza is happy to hear the good news of her son’s safety following surgery.
Please pray for Mohammed to be blessed with a good recovery over these next critical 24 hours.
Baby Mohammed was brought urgently to Israel from a hospital in Gaza, arriving yesterday evening. Mohammed is already two months old, and has traveled here with his father.
Mohammed has a large VSD which has only recently been diagnosed. The hospital in Gaza has given him a lot of medicines to try and improve his health and sustain his life. He is now in the Intensive Care Unit at Sheba Medical Center, here in Israel. He’s being looked after by the medical team who are hoping as always for the best.
Today, his case was being talked about by many of the medical staff. At the moment, they are trying to work out exactly what his condition is and what intervention he has received already.
We hope and pray that soon the medical team here will have a plan to carry out and we will see his healing. Thank you for your prayers for this little one.
Mohammed has had a PIC line inserted to keep him gaining weight. This process will take a few weeks, but the doctors decided that this was best to do before sending him home to Gaza. He needs to get bigger but he’s only tolerating a certain kind of formula which isn’t available in Gaza when he transitions there.
