Ahmed and his mother went back to Kurdistan today after seven months of being in Israël. In these seven months, Ahmed went from a boy who did not feel well, to a cute boy who is slowly becoming happier.
It was not always easy for Ahmed’s mother here, but she always stayed patient and kind to us. It was a little emotional for us to say goodbye to her, because she has been at Shevet Achim as long as some volunteers have been. She was the last one leaving from a group of six families who arrived in Israel at the end of August.
We will miss them a lot, but also we are very happy that Ahmed can return healthy and his mother can go back to her family with a healthy son. Thank you for all your prayers for this little one. They were greatly appreciated.
After seven months of being in Israël and having two surgeries and multiple catheterizations, Ahmed was cleared today to go home to Kurdistan!
His mother is very happy, and can’t wait to be back with her husband and three daughters.
She treated her son immediately on an ice-cream.
Ahmed has a conduit to his heart that needs replacement in a couple of years. Also he still has two tiny holes in his heart. But for now he is good to go. There is no danger for him.
Praise the Lord for his mercy on Ahmed. The time in Israël was not always easy, but his mother has been patient, understanding and kind to us all the time.
Ahmed was not the most happy child, but now after the surgeries, he feels better and he is a whole new child. Very happy and smiling a lot!
Ahmed had an x-ray today to check on the fluid around his lung. His mom and I were both so proud of him for how good he was for the scan; he didn’t cry at all and he was even excited to see the images up on the screen. He’s come a long way since his first few echoes.
Ahmed will have what we hope is his last echo tomorrow. If all his scans look good, his cardiologist would like to discharge him to go home to Kurdistan. Please pray for good results for Ahmed.
Today I drove with Ahmed and his strong mum from our Jerusalem guesthouse to Sheba Hospital. There Ahmed had a check-up, including an echo, ECG and an x-ray.
Usually the little boy doesn’t like the hospital at all and is crying a lot. But today he was very calm that even his doctor was very surprised. We also enjoyed the waiting time playing together, and he was smiling.
The doctor decided Ahmed doesn’t need another cath and his mom was very happy about this. During the x-ray however, they saw that Ahmed has a little bit of fluid around his lungs and needs to have another x-ray next week. If the fluid is decreasing, he will only need one more echo in the week after. If then everything looks good, Ahmed and his mother can finally go home to their family.
Let’s pray for good results in his next appointments and that he and his mother, who has been waiting so patiently, can finally leave!
Today we collected Ahmed and his mother from Sheba Hospital to bring them to the Shevet Guesthouse in Jerusalem.
His mother is very pleased and was welcomed very much from the other moms in Jerusalem.
Ahmed was also still in a good mood. We are glad for this improvement and are expecting him in a week for an echo at Sheba Hospital again. After that the doctors will decide about a cath or not.
Please pray for little Ahmed and his patient mother.
I was very happy to see Ahmed and his Mother. We waited together for the surgery and it’s very nice to hear that the outcome and improving is still very good, as the doctor told me. Little Ahmed even smiled at me and this is definitely not his usual attitude in the hospital.
Also the mother is very glad. She is just a little worried about the next decision of the doctors against or for a cath. At the moment the doctor thinks very positive about having no catheterization for Ahmed, but the next follow up echo will give us further information and it depends very much on his further recovery.
At the moment Ahmed still has a PEG tube, but the doctors want to remove it today and discharge Ahmed tomorrow already probably.
Please pray for good recovery, so that Ahmed and his mother can go back to Kurdistan soon.
Ahmed is doing okay after his big surgery at Sheba Medical. The echo from today looks like yesterday – that’s good so far. The doctors will watch Ahmed carefully in the next days and have to decide if he needs another cath.
When coworker Doro and I visited Ahmed and his mother today, it was hard to see this normally very active boy, appearing so weak. Also his mother didn’t sleep the whole night, because she was so concerned.
Please pray for little Ahmed – that he is improving well and will get new strength from the Lord (and also his mother).
Today at Sheba Medical, Ahmed had his high-risk surgery to repair little holes in his heart, the holes in his heart were causing too much blood flow to the lungs. Blood is always supposed to go to the lungs, Ahmed just had too much going there.
My coworker Tabea and I went to the hospital to wait and support Ahmed’s mother. After seven hours, the surgery was finished and the doctors told us that they were able to do what they planned to do and that for now, Ahmed is doing good.
During the surgery Ahmed’s left ventricle started to dysfunction, but is luckily already improving. The doctors also discovered a vein in Ahmed’s heart that is a little narrow and that he may need another catheterization. In the next days the doctors will decide what happens next.
While we were waiting with Ahmed’s mother during his procedure, we saw that she was really nervous but still smiling and laughing. I really enjoy spending time with her and being there for her.
Please thank the lord that Ahmed is doing well right now and please keep praying for him and his lovely mother.
Today, Ahmed had his catheterization in Sheba Medical Center to dilate the stenotic blood vessels. During the procedure, the doctors saw that there is a hole between the atria and one between the ventricles. Because of this finding, the doctors weren’t able to relieve the obstruction of the right ventricle and while the timing seems right to them, doctors have decided to commence with Ahmed’s surgery already tomorrow.
Your prayers for the doctors and nursing team, for Ahmed’s family and for Ahmed as well, are greatly appreciated as the doctors said this will be a high-risk surgery for little Ahmed.
Ahmed was admitted to Sheba hospital today for his long-awaited interventional catheterization, which is scheduled for tomorrow. This was an exciting day for his mother, who has waited through several delays and is very eager for his cath. If the procedure is successful and the doctors can dilate Ahmed’s stenotic blood vessels, he may be able to go home to Kurdistan soon.
Today coworker Ella and I went to Sheba hospital to visit Ahmed. Yesterday, he was admitted to the hospital for a catheterization that was scheduled for today.
Unfortunately, there weren’t enough free beds in the ICU so the catheterization was canceled, and Ahmed was discharged to Jerusalem. The doctors still have to find out when the catheterization will happen, but hopefully it will be in the next days.
While we told his mom the news, she was still smiling and still in a good mood. I enjoy it so much to see how she always has a smile on her face, and tries to be in a happy state of mind.
Please pray that Ahmed can have his cath soon, and his mom stays so positive and strong.
Ahmed was admitted to Sheba hospital this evening for a catheterization scheduled for tomorrow. His mom is hoping this will be the last treatment needed before they can go home to Kurdistan, as they have been here in Israel for several months.
His cardiologist explained that if the cath goes well and they are able to dilate the stenotic arteries, he will likely be able to go home soon, but if they are not able to perform the intervention, he may need another surgery before going home.
Ahmed’s cath may be delayed again if there is no ICU bed available for him today. Please pray that space opens up so he can have the procedure today and that it is successful with no complications.
Today we brought Ahmed to Sheba Medical Center for a CT Scan. We had to wait a while, but since we were there really early in the morning, Ahmed had been very calm and sleepy. Even though I was also very tired, I really enjoyed the time with Ahmed’s mom. She is very kind and we laughed a lot together today.
Ahmed got Anesthesia so he wouldn’t move during the CT. Due to this, we had to wait a little till he woke up. After that, we were allowed to return to the community house. Results will be available in the next few days. Thanking the Lord for Ahmed and his mom.
Today, we went to Sheba Medical Center for an echo with Ahmed and his mother. When we left our community house, he was already crying, because he knew exactly that we were heading towards the hospital. He doesn’t like the hospital most likely because of a lifetime of assessments and procedures.
He had an echo. In consideration of little Ahmed however, the echo was brief, only five minutes or so. The doctor checked for fluid around the heart and lungs. There is again a little bit of fluid there.
Ahmed also had an ECG done.
Other than that, the doctor scheduled a CT scan for little Ahmed in one week to find out more about his narrow artery. This result will show if Ahmed needs a cath.
Ahmed’s mother started crying I’m sure for many reasons. She misses her family very much and hopes she and Ahmed can go back to Kurdistan very soon.
It was nice to see how the doctor cared about both Ahmed and his mother. Please pray for patience for Ahmed’s mother and for a good result after the CT scan.
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Ahmed had an echo at Sheba Medical Center, Children’s hospital today. The fluid behind his lungs and heart is gone, which is good news!
The doctor saw on the echo that Ahmed’s artery, the one traveling from the right ventricle to the lungs, is narrowed. The doctor will talk with other professionals to decide if they need to dilate it in another catherization procedure or whether something else should be done.
Meanwhile, we will enjoy having Ahmed with us in the house. He is a little rascal, which is fun to observe. You can see often in his big eyes that he is looking for trouble and often finds it!
After the cute rascal Ahmed was discharged from Sheba Children’s hospital to our home in Jaffa one week ago, he had to go back to the hospital today for an echo to see how be is doing.
Praise the Lord, the medicine he is on in order to decrease fluid did help and the echo of today showed that there is no fluid around his lungs anymore.
During the echo, Ahmed was really anxious and it was quite difficult to take the echo, which according to the doctor, is because of the drug Prednisolone, as it is affecting the behavior of some patients.
The doctor was really patient during the whole echo for Ahmed and his mother was also so lovingly taking care of her beloved son. Since the medicine is helping well, the doctor suggested to decrease it from now on every day a bit.
Ahmed is not ready yet though to be discharged yet to Kurdistan because the conduit that they made in the surgery is a bit narrow. Therefore the doctor wants to keep an eye on it to be able to say if he needs treatment for it now or if he can go back to Kurdistan like that and wait for some time and then come back to have treatment.
Even though that means that Ahmed and his mother might have to stay for still some time, it is very nice to know that the hospital and medical staff at Sheba just want to do the best for all these children.
Please pray for ongoing patience as well for Ahmed’s mother who showed that she has a very patient heart during all her time here so far.
"Bexherbe la mali Jaffa" (Welcome to our house in Jaffa)
Posted by Sabrina
Today when Alena and I visited cute Ahmed, we found him happily sitting on his bed and busy playing with Play-Doh. He didn’t even want to look into my Camera for a short moment, to get his picture taken. He is doing very well and therefore we were really happy when a doctor told us that he can be discharged to our Community home in Jaffa today.
So we welcomed him home to Jaffa, with having a small welcoming party. He was really happy and so was his mother, after being in the hospital for twenty days now after Ahmed has had his surgery. He still has the fluid around his lungs but the hospital discharged him with a medicine in order to help dealing with this issue.
Please be praying that the medicine is helping him and that he doesn’t need any other treatment in order to help it.
Today Ahmed was scheduled to have a catheterization at Sheba Hospital for the fluid that is building up in his chest. But it was cancelled because he lost a lot of fluid through the chest tube. Ahmed’s doctor said he is in a really good condition. Let’s pray that the fluid will continue to decrease.
His mother is so lovely. She gave me a big hug today because Ahmed didn’t need a catheterization anymore. She is thanking God that Ahmed is doing so well. And we are too.
This morning, coworker Nour and I found Ahmed taking a stroll around the Pediatric ICU of Sheba Hospital with his mother. He still has a chest tube to drain fluid, but overall he is doing well.
Ahmed is normally a very active little boy, and his mom says he doesn’t like being stuck in the hospital room all the time. It’s good to see him feeling well enough to show his feisty personality, and we pray his chest tube can be removed soon so he can slowly get back to normal.
This weekend, at Sheba hospital, Ahmed was extubated. Also they reduced the amount of oxygen he receives and they are able to give him less medicine.
He still has a chest-tube to reduce the fluids in his chest and his stomach is a little bloated with an accompanying tummy-ache, so doctors are looking for the cause of these things.
For the past few months that Ahmed’s mother waited for his surgery to take place, she was without a doubt, the most patient and understanding mother I have encountered. She was always gentle and seeking to see the good in every week that went by that didn’t schedule his operation. Getting to tell her that the hospital called Ahmed in for surgery was one of the best moments of my time here, as it was the culmination of much waiting, not just for the time, but in the two previous times Ahmed had been in Israel and received catheterizations because he was not yet ready for his surgery.
Seeing him today, the day after the three years of waiting, was seeing their fulfillment and it was especially wonderful. His mother was so happy and relaxed. She was so thankful that he has come through his big operation where the surgeons switched his arteries as well as the atriums of his heart, closed a hole between the lower chambers of the heart and placed a conduit to the pulmonary artery to deal with his pulmonic valve being closed.
From an echo, the surgical results look good especially because it was a large surgery, and the ICU staff at Sheba hospital are preparing Ahmed for extubation. We are really so thankful for the fruition of a long held hope and the continued recovery of our wonderful and feisty Ahmed.
Ahmed went in to surgery today early in the morning. The condition of his heart is an L-TGA. The surgery was very complicated, and due to this, the wait for Ahmed was quite long. The doctors said it was successful though.
The next 48 hours are still crucial, so please be praying for Ahmed’s recovery. His mother had the company of the mother of Mohammed, and the mother of Yano. The mother of Yano was such a huge help today graciously helping with translation.
Ahmed was admitted to Sheba Medical Center today for a surgery tomorrow. His mother was so thankful that Ahmed is receiving surgery tomorrow, that she kept saying no problem about the many steps for getting admitted.
Zakaria needed to have a Corona test, an echo, and an ECG upon his entry to the hospital.
Please keep praying that God’s hand would be over the surgery and with the doctors tomorrow.
After a long wait, Ahmed’s CT scan appointment at Sheba hospital came up today. Ahmed had to fast 2:00 a.m. which caused him to be very hungry and unsettled in the morning while waiting in the CT scan area.
But we are very happy that he could have it.
They are here for the third time now in Israel and hoping for a surgery this time, so the doctors’ decision for the surgery is very important. Please pray for doctors to have God’s wisdom and to make the right decision for Ahmed whatever that will be, and for peace and trust in God for Ahmed’s mother.
Today was the first appointment for Ahmed at the Sheba Medical Center. We drove from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, because they have been visiting in our Jerusalem Guest House. Ahmed’s mother was ready to leave for hospital an hour before the departure.
Ahmed began today with an echocardiogram.
The doctor recorded Ahmed’s weight and oxygen level. It‘s very hard for Ahmed to get used to these appointments however, and he cried a lot. Please pray that it‘s getting better. In one room is a little car, and Ahmed was impressed. He sat in the car as a reward after the assignment.
Co-worker Julio came along and was able to translate from English to Kurdish. He explained to Ahmed’s mother that the Doctor wants Ahmed to do a CT-Scan and they will decide afterwards about the next steps. If Ahmed’s heart is in the right condition, they would do a surgery. Otherwise the doctor prefers a catheterization.
His mother was also told that Ahmed is growing well and that he should continue taking the medicine which he has been taking during this past year. Before we went back to Jerusalem, Ahmed had an X-Ray.
At the end of this visit, Ahmed was more calm walked through the floor with his mom, watched some videos and slept. A mother who was also waiting for an assignment, talked to the mother of Ahmed. I think it was very nice for Ahmed‘s mother to feel comfortable in the new surroundings at the Sheba hospital. She could also meet some volunteers and parents she knew from the Shevet Achim community house.
Ahmed arrived in Israel yesterday along with his mother and a group of other Kurdish families. We welcome them all.
Ahmed is a three year old boy from Iraqi Kurdistan. This is his third time in Israel. He traveled once with his father, and now he is traveling for the second time, with his mother. He received a PDA stent in 2018 and required a PDA stent dilation in 2019.
He has a very complex heart condition called L-TGA, where the lower section of his heart is flipped. His great arteries are also reversed, which is in his favor at this time as this allows for a physiological circulation. However, over time, this causes great strain on his heart.
It is a blessing to see how much he has grown up! With his gain in weight, we hope that he is now ready for a large and risky surgery procedure called the Double Switch Operation.
Please pray for Ahmed and his mother as they go through their two weeks of quarantine in Israel. We are thankful for his mother’s friendship, and we hope that this friendship can grow.
Ahmed and his mother went back to Kurdistan today after seven months of being in Israël. In these seven months, Ahmed went from a boy who did not feel well, to a cute boy who is slowly becoming happier.
It was not always easy for Ahmed’s mother here, but she always stayed patient and kind to us. It was a little emotional for us to say goodbye to her, because she has been at Shevet Achim as long as some volunteers have been. She was the last one leaving from a group of six families who arrived in Israel at the end of August.
We will miss them a lot, but also we are very happy that Ahmed can return healthy and his mother can go back to her family with a healthy son. Thank you for all your prayers for this little one. They were greatly appreciated.
