Asmeen is back in familiar territory in the Pediatric ICU of Sheba hospital, but she looks very big and grown up now! She is so beautiful and looks very much like her mother, a mother who happens to be a blessing to her baby and of course to the other Kurdish mothers, helping to bring patience, calm and steadiness to their in-hospital days.
After Asmeen’s mother independently cleaned the tracheostomy with suctioning, some of the therapists came to help Asmeen with her physical skills. A recent development is that Asmeen can hold things in both hands, and is trying to put her pacifier into her mouth by herself.
The big project on the horizon now is thinking about transferring Asmeen back to Kurdistan. There are a lot of things to arrange and plan, and thankfully Asmeen’s mother is extremely competent and it’s great to have her at the center of everything going on.
Please pray over this potential transfer to Kurdistan. It is a complex endeavor, but we are hoping and praying for the right doors to open up for Asmeen and her mother to travel safely in the future.
Yesterday evening I was doing an admission to Sheba hospital for one of our children to its 6th floor. When I went into the ICU, there was a lovely surprise awaiting me. It was the lovely mother of Asmeen greeting me with her beautiful smile. She and little Asmeen are back at Sheba Medical Center since yesterday.
I was so happy to see them because it has been a while since we’ve saw each other. They have been in Alyn Rehabilitation hospital in Jerusalem. It was even a longer time since I’ve seen Asmeen, as in Alyn hospital I wasn’t allowed to see her.
So it was lovely to see her today, and I can see that she has grown a lot. She was readily reacting to noises and her eye contact has improved which is also an improvement.
Asmeen’s mother is a great woman with a beautiful heart. She is always comforting the mothers and encouraging them. For example, she did this yesterday evening as she showed one of our new mothers how to make her bed, where the bed sheets are kept, and the floor kitchen and so on. It is a privilege to have her back, as she is such a lovely woman.
Also today she comforted some other mothers. We call her “the Queen of the ICU” and it is really nice that they all comfort each other right from the beginning. Please pray that she may continue in her beautiful patience, she has been here for such a long time with little Asmeen and there seems to be no end to it.
A few weeks ago the Alyn Rehabilitation Hospital in Jerusalem allowed the lovely mother of Asmeen to have a a little bit of rest for one day and take some rest for herself while her little Asmeen is admitted there.
I took her to our Jerusalem Guest house where some of our other Kurdish families have been for some time. She was very happy to see all of them and enjoyed they their time together. Afterwards, she was able go to the old city, visit the Mosque and get some shopping in. It’s the first time she’s been able to go outside of the hospital for about four months!
She has now returned to the hospital so today, co-worker Margarita and I visited Asmeen’s mother there. Even though she is a very strong and lovely woman, she is struggling so she cried during our visit. We told her we know that this whole time must be very difficult for her and she agreed and said she also misses her husband back in Kurdistan. We tried to encourage her that everything is in God’s hands and that we can and should trust in him. That calmed her down. She said she knows this to be true and is thankful for it.
She is very tired, but she needs to continue to wait for the Lord and who knows how long? So please pray for new strength and patience for this lovely woman and her cute Asmeen, for each new day.
Yesterday I visited the lovely mother of Asmeen in Alyn Rehabilitation Hospital in Jerusalem. At the start, Asmeen’s mother was happy to see me and in a good mood. We went outside to sit down on a bench together because I am not allowed to go to visit little Asmeen.
The weather was beautiful. The sun was shining and it was lovely to sit and chat with her despite our language differences. It was a mix of Kurdish, English and Arabic. She told me with tears in her eyes that she is very tired from being in the hospital for such a long time with her little daughter now. They are here now four months. I tried to comfort her with a hug and I hope I gave her the feeling that I understood the difficulty in this. She seems a bit like she is about to give up hope on her lovely daughter, but I told her she should try to continue to have hope for a good recovery for her and even though it is difficult now to wait so long, the wait will be worth it in the end.
Nevertheless, Asmeen’s mother is looking forward to having a little bit of rest this coming Sunday or Monday. She would like to see a bit of Jerusalem. The Kurdish families that are with us at the moment in our Jerusalem guesthouse would go with her, maybe even visit the Mosque to pray – a very important thing for Asmeen’s mom.
Please join me in prayer that this will be possible, and that it gives her new strength and patience even though it is still very difficult.
Today I visited the lovely mother of Asmeen at the Alyn Rehabilitation Hospital in Jerusalem. One of our Kurdish mother’s joined me during the visit. When we arrived there we weren’t allowed to go to visit Asmeen because we are not vaccinated, but I called Asmeen’s mom and told her please come to the entrance because we would love to visit her. So she did with the help of a very friendly nurse. When she saw us, she greeted us with a warm hug and happy as she is always when we visited her before. It was very nice to see her even though we couldn’t see little Asmeen. She sent me a video and a picture of her cute daughter.
When I asked her how she is doing and if she likes the new hospital, she said with a smile that she is very good, and that she really likes the new hospital. She feels that they take very good care of both her and Asmeen.
I’m happy that one of the Kurdish mother’s could join me for the visit and talk for a while with Asmeen’s mother. I hope this encouraged her since she had been such an encouragement for so many other families she had met at Sheba hospital in her time there. We really miss them at Sheba because it was much easier to visit her there since hospital staff and personnel know us, but still it is a blessing that she can be in this hospital now for Asmeen’s sake.
Today was the day for Asmeen’s transfer to Alyn Hospital in Jerusalem. Her mother has waited a long time for this, and it’s a real blessing that Asmeen should be given a place at this hospital. We are told its the best place in Israel for children in Asmeen’s condition, and beds are almost always given just to Israeli citizens. Asmeen has a place, we are told, as a special favour for the doctor in the ICU at Sheba hospital.The ambulance that transferrs patients to Alyn Hospital, came early in the morning, so Asmeen had to leave Sheba while we were still on the way there. We shared a video chat and saw little Asmeen bundled into the ambulance.
We will really miss seeing Asmeen’s mother each day at Sheba, but we can still visit with her and Asmeen at Alyn hospital. Asmeen’s mother is also hopeful that she might be able to take a day herself and see the other Kurdish mothers who are currently staying at our guesthouse in Jerusalem. Perhaps it will be possible. Asmeen’s mum sent me a message and video when she arrived to the new hospital. I took a few images from the video, Asmeen in her Sheba bed and Sheba pyjamas. Also the view out of the window, the beautiful mountains of Ein Kerem, near Jerusalem.
When we looked at photos online yesterday of Ein Kerem, Asmeen’s mum said the mountains are like Kurdistan. It’s also a reminder to us that, “As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people, from this time forth and forevermore.” Psalm 125:2 We can pray that Asmeen’s mother continues to grow and shine in strength and dignity, and little Asmeen’s condition improves, as she is surrounded by the Lord.
After waiting patiently, with a few occasions of disappointed hope, Asmeen’s mother is preparing to transfer to Alyn hospital in Jerusalem tomorrow. She has been a wonderful rock of support for the other new mothers at Sheba hospital, always appearing at their time of need, whether it is giving emotional support or translation. It has been a big blessing to have such a steady and patient lady with us this long in the hospital.
Asmeen will be travelling by ambulance tomorrow, as of course, she cannot be removed from the mechanical ventilator. Please pray for Asmeen’s recovery, and her mother’s hopes, that this would all go ahead tomorrow as planned and that the outcome would be successful. God willing.
Please continue to join us in praying for sweet Asmeen. She continues to wait for a free space to open up at a Jerusalem hospital that specializes in weaning children off ventilators. The waiting has been long for both Asmeen and her mother. Co-worker Sabrina and I tried to coax a smile out of Asmeen this afternoon; she is so alert, but not too generous with her smiles! Still, we love this baby and want to stand with her and her mother in hope for a good recovery, and in particular that she would be able to be weaned from the ventilator as soon as possible. In Jesus’ name, we long for progress for Asmeen!
We have been very moved to hear over the past few days how difficult it is becoming for Asmeen’s mother to bear the weight of the circumstances she’s in. She is longing to be back in Kurdistan, and is losing hope for Asmeen’s future.
As we heard again from one of the doctors today, the hospital in Jerusalem is the best place in all of Israel for children like Asmeen, specialising in weaning their patients off ventilators. On the other hand, the lack of time frame is discouraging, and it takes so much strength for Asmeen’s mum to aim her hope into so many unknowns. As she always says, Asmeen is not in her hands, or our hands, or the doctors’ hands, but in the hands of God.
Certainly, when Asmeen’s tracheostomy tube came out of the hole in her neck during our visit this morning, her mother did not act like a lady who had given up on her daughter’s chance of life. She ran out of the room shouting for a doctor or nurse to come, as the alarms on Asmeen’s machines starting ringing out to alert us that Asmeen was in a dangerous situation. The expert care of the nurse ensured that this incident was over in a matter of seconds, but even during this short time, we saw her oxygen level plummet.
Asmeen’s mother agreed that because it is the Jewish holiday of Pesach this week, there are not so many doctors at the hospital. So we will wait until next week before we can really discuss Asmeen’s situation with them. She was hopeful for this discussion to be on Sunday, but I told her that it will then be our Christian holiday, where we are celebrating “new life” (my limited Kurdish skills…!), and I promised that we will hope and pray for this new life for Asmeen.
Please remember this long-suffering and sweet family in prayer; that God will surround and uplift the mother and renew her hope! We are also hoping and praying for healing for Asmeen, to be weaned from the ventilator.
Asmeen’s mother was outside the Sheba hospital pediatric ICU when I saw her, and she asked if I could come in to see Asmeen. It always strikes me when I see Asmeen awake, that she is so beautiful. She was moving around a lot, and kicking off her blankets; her mother commented on this with delight. She asked if there was any news for Asmeen, and my response was the same as before, that we are waiting for a bed to open up in the hospital in Jerusalem for her.
Please pray for this to happen or for ways in which we could help move things along for Asmeen. Her mum saw all of the Kurdish New Year celebrations happening this weekend, and instead of a tone of bitterness that she wasn’t there, she took joy in describing the Newroz festivities that she has attended before and hopes to go to again someday.
Asmeen’s mother has been the epitome of patient as she continues to wait for a space in the hospital in Jerusalem which specializes in tracheostomies. That hospitalo said they will contact Sheba hospital when there is a bed available for Asmee.
Please pray this will be soon so that Asmeen can start working on being taken off mechanical ventilation. Asmeen has been in the hospital for three months now, and especially in times of waiting, her mum has shown incredible endurance.
This week Jonathan shared that there is a hospital in Jerusalem which is prepared and agreed to receive our precious little Asmeen and her lovely mother in about two weeks. I went today to the ICU at Sheba Medical Center today to give this good news to Asmeen’s mother. She was very happy to hear this and was asking when she will leave to the other hospital, she was excited and hopeful.
The hospital in Jerusalem is willing to keep little Asmeen for up to three months without charge while they try to wean her from the ventilator. After that, she would have to return to Sheba.
Praise the Lord that the hospital in Jerusalem agreed to receive this lovely mother and her precious daughter. Let us continue to keep this family in our prayers.
Asmeen’s mother is drawing her strength from her belief that everything is in the hands of God. She is holding up fantastically in the hospital for so long, and we told her today that Asmeen is really blessed to have her as her mother, faithfully by her side and patiently waiting for her to improve.
The doctors have explained that due to the anatomy of her chest, and other factors, it is seeming very difficult to wean Asmeen from mechanical ventialtion, and there is no treatment to be done, except to give her time. As she must remain connected to the ventilator, it’s not possible to move her to a different area of this hospital, as they do not have the facility to accommodate this. However, there is discussion about whether Asmeen could be transferred to a specialist setting for children requiring long term mechanical ventialtion.
Please hope and pray with us for Asmeen, for the way to be open for her to be accomodated in the most suitable place, and for time to improve her condition. Thank God that it is all in His hands and His timing.
“What is this new machine?” This is one of the first questions Asmeen’s mum asked me. She was referring to the wires attached to various points around Asmeen’s head. We were in Sheba Hospital.
In the past 24 hours, Asmeen has had a seizure, and so these wires are to monitor her brain activity. The cause of the seizure is still unknown. An ultrasound was done, but nothing was found that would be the reason for a seizure.
It is beyond difficult for Asmeen’s mother to see her daughter not getting better, and now having this new problem with her brain.
Today co- worker Sabrina and I visited our little girl Asmeen at Sheba Medical Centre. It was so nice to see her peacefully resting on the bed. She received a beautiful toy which also makes music. She likes to observe it and stay quiet.
Our cute Asmeen is still on a breathing machine and doctors don’t know when they will be free to discontinue with it. She is so long already with breathing help, and has to stay in the Pediatric ICU because of it. The nice nurse whom we asked today if there will be a new treatment plan, could not give us any information. For Asmeen’s mother, it is also difficult to cope with the unknown.
Today, Asmeen had a fever, but thank God, the medical staff had it on a string, and now Asmeen feels better, the fever is down. We hope for improvement from our little girl in everything very soon.
Please keep praying with us for clarity in this situation for Asmeen and also for strength for her lovely mother. Thank you so much for your support!
I wanted to visit Asmeen in the Pediatric ICU of Sheba hospital, but she wasn’t there. A helpful nurse showed me where our sweet girl Asmeen is now located. It is a good sign of improvement that she has been moved out of the ICU, healing little by little.
After Asmeen had the tracheotomy surgery, her breathing remains stable. She still has some support from a breathing machine. With God’s help, she will get better. Her mother has so much love for Asmeen. She caressed her small daughter on the head and Asmeen fell asleep. Her mother is waiting patiently for a miracle, waiting for the time Asmeen will be free from the machine.
Thank you so much for prayers for Asmeen and her mother. We all need God so much in our lives.
Co-worker Alena and I reached Sheba Hospital early, unsure of when Asmeen’s tracheostomy procedure would take place. The mother greeted us in her usual friendly way, and assured us that Asmeen is in the best possible hands, God’s, therefore she is feeling strong. Here she is before the procedure today.
Asmeen’s mum was visited by some of the other Kurdish mothers, now at the end of their journey here in Israel, coming to encourage her and wish her well.
The tracheostomy procedure did not take too long, perhaps around two hours. Asmeen’s mother handled the discussions with competence, now she is getting used to speaking Arabic and English. I was so proud of her! It was so great to be able to sit with her during the waiting time, and speak with her about many things, especially her life and family in Kurdistan. She is holding up well in the hospital after so long here.
Thankfully the procedure went well. Asmeen, with her tracheostomy procedure completed, was transported back to the Pediatric ICU.
Asmeen’s mother is a very patient and lovely woman. When I went into the Sheba Hospital Pediatric ICU today to visit her and Asmeen, she was finished with eating her lunch. I said a silent “Hello” to let her know that I’m there. She didn’t see me at first and I wasn’t allowed to go into her room. She came out with a smile on her face and hugged me while she greeted me. I’m impressed that she is still quite happy even though she is in the hospital for a long time with her little daughter.
It’s always funny when I visit her because as we attempt to speak with each other and it is always a mix of Kurdish, English, Arabic and German. But somehow we mange to understand each other. Every time she is trying to recall an English word and remembers it, she is very proud of it. She’s studying English on a phone App.
She told me that Asmeen had an Echo today which showed that Asmeen’s little heart is in good shape and added the word “Al-Hamdullalah,” which means ‘praise be to God’ in Arabic. I’ve asked her if she can take a picture of Asmeen for me. Sadly, you can see that she is intubated again.
Her friendly mother told me that Asmeen is not sleeping well during the night. Our precious little Asmeen will have a Tracheotomy surgery on Sunday in the morning. Hopefully, that surgery will be successful and Asmeen will heal fast and soon. Please pray for the doctors at Sheba, that they will be given great wisdom and direction for this surgery. Please also lift Asmeen’s patient mother up in your prayers, asking for her to have peace about the whole situation.
When I went to visit our little Asmeen and her lovely mother at Sheba Medical Center today, she told me that Asmeen is extubated. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing and wasn’t even sure if I understood her correctly from the context because she told me in Kurdish and with her hands.
I asked her if she would take a picture of Asmeen for me since we’re not allowed to go into their rooms in the Pediatric ICU. I was so thankful and happy when I saw the picture of an extubated Asmeen. Her lovely mother told me that she is sleeping a lot and sleeping well. By extension, this means Asmeen’s mother also sleeps well.
Every time I visit this mother, she is happy to see me and is always asking how all the others families at our community house are doing. She is an extremely friendly woman, but she is tired and worried about staying in the hospital for so long.
Let’s comfort her and our lovely Asmeen in prayers, that they can leave the hospital really soon.
I met Asmeen’s mother in the Pediatric ICU of Sheba Hospital today. She was pleased to see me, and to tell me that her lovely daughter had her surgery this morning! What a surprise!
Sadly, I could not to speak with a doctor or a nurse to get more information. But the surgery was not a long time and when I met the mother, small Asmeen was already in her room again at the ICU on the sixth floor. And she did pretty well!
Last week the doctors told us they want to make an operation on her diaphragm to make more room for the lungs. We pray that the surgery will help to improve our lovely Asmeen!
Sweet Asmeen is awake and looking beautiful today! We saw her mother with the other Kurdish mothers outside the Sheba Medical Center Pediatric ICU for some time together today.
Thank God for restoring Asmeen’s mother’s peace again. I was so happy to receive this video from her of Asmeen! I realized that despite them being in Israel for a month now, I have hardly seen Asmeen, as she has spent almost the entire time in hospital and we now cannot visit her in their room.
Asmeen is scheduled for a surgery on Sunday to help improve lung expantion in her chest space. After this, there is a new hope that Asmeen can breathe on her own, and perhaps could be then extubated.
Thank you for your continued prayer for this little one.
Asmeen’s mother was quite upset today when co-worker Alena and I saw her in Sheba hospital. It has been a long time now that Asmeen is intubated after her surgery, and her usually positive mum is finding it hard that she doesn’t speak much Arabic or English, but Kurdish.
Our hearts broke for her as she tearfully showed us the apps she has downloaded for learning English on her phone, as she is so desperate to be able to understand a bit more about the condition of her baby. At the moment, we can’t enter the ICU due to corona restrictions, so not being able to speak to a doctor on their behalf can compound a difficult situation for some of our parents here who speak only Kurdish.
Thankfully, God opened a way for us today, by a very kind nurse who presented our case to the Cardiologist who heads up the care of the ICU children. We were so grateful for her time, where she gave us a full explanation of Asmeen’s current situation, and plans for the future.
She explained that the surgery for the heart had been very successful, and the heart looks well. The complex problem facing Asmeen now is that she has Pulmonary Hypertension, coupled with an unusual bone structure of her ribcage. This means that although her Pulmonary Hypertension is managed well through medications, breathing is still difficult for her, as the chest cannot expand in the typical way. This is why it has not been possible to successfully extubate her as yet. The doctors are going to discuss her case and see whether a surgery can be done which might help her breathing function.
Thank God that the good news is that Asmeen in some ways is recovering well. Please pray for peace and strength for her mum, who has been in the hospital since the day of Asmeen’s first assessment now.
Asmeen’s mother was not feeling too well today. She is a very brave and easy going person, but many days in the hospital can take their toll. We got her outside for some fresh air, and she felt better. Asmeen is in the process of recovering which requires great patience, moreover she is still intubated. So please pray for her mother to remain calm and patient.
Asmeen had a CT scan today, and we hope to find out the results of this later in the week.
Our little Asmeen is still at the Pediatric Intenstive Cardiac Care Unit at Sheba Medical Centre. Her mother met me there. She looks rested and she was happy to have a visit.
Asmeen is doing well. Her physical condition is stable and yesterday, she was extubated. But she was not quite able to breathe independently as yet, so our sweet girl had to be intubated again.
She is in Gods hands, and He cares for this blessed child!
Asmeen’s heart surgery was planned for last Sunday at Sheba Medical Center, but was re-scheduled for today. Co-worker Carina and I went to the hospital to spend the waiting time with Asmeen’s mother. While Asmeen was in surgery, we found her mom to be very upset. When she saw us, she fell crying into my arms. But after a while she calmed down a bit and stopped crying.
Even though I don’t speak any Kurdish, we were able to spend a good amount of quality time while we waited. We sipped coffee and tea together and I thanked God we were able to talk at least a little bit together and understood each other from specific contexts. It was a mix of German, English and Kurdish, it was a good fellowship together.
The whole surgery of Asmeen took about five hours and thank God, everything went well. After the doctors brought her out of the surgery area, they moved Asmeen to the 6th floor. Her mother and I still had to wait in the waiting room for half an hour as staff prepared everything. We spent that time with me learning some Kurdish, and her learning some English which was fun and difficult at the same time for us both. After half an hour, we were able to get into the ICU.
The surgery was successful, thanks be to God. Please continue to pray for the lovely mother of Asmeen, that she would remain at peace, and for the precious life of little Asmeen, that for the next 24-48 hours, all concerned would be wise and vigilant as they care over this critical time of Asmeen’s recovery.
Beautiful Asmeen was wide awake when I visited her at Sheba Medical today. I was surprised at how tiny and delicate she is and how little space she took up in the crib, but her big eyes were taking in the room around her.
After many tests, she is on the schedule to receive surgery on Sunday! Her mum was excited about this news but took it with steadiness. Please pray for this lovely family as it is the first surgery of Asmeen’s young life and her mother’s first experience of major surgery for her child.
I found Asmeen sleeping in her room today, recovering from the earlier anesthesia, as she had the CT scan as arranged yesterday.Asmeen needed a scan of many areas of her body, which the doctors will look at next week, to make their assessments. Asmeen was recovering and had a tube of oxygen flow near to her which helped her saturation to read higher than usual. Mum was in a good mood, and is coping bravely in the hospital. They will stay in the hospital over the weekend before the doctors make their assessments.
Dear Asmeen had her first trip to Sheba hospital today. She is very tiny, and coped with the assessments very well. The doctor saw her echo, and also saw that she has some other problems in her body, all of which he promptly decided needed further more detailed investigation. Asmeen was swiftly admitted to the children’s unit, along with her patient and sweet mother, with the idea that she will have the CT scan for all parts of her body requiring the assessment.
Thank God that she is able to receive the assessment here, and please pray they it will be possible to treat Asmeen here.
Asmeen and her mum travelled with four other Kurdish families, arriving in Israel last night. It was a long day, and they were both tired when they arrived. Asmeen is the only child of her mother, and is three months old. She has a diagnosis of Persistent Truncus Arteriosus, which means that her oxygen level is very low. Asmeen will see the doctor on Wednesday to make a full assessment of their condition. She and mum must stay in quarantine with all the other Kurdish families for two weeks, so please pray for an easy settling-in period for them.
