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.
