Hassanein returned to Gaza today by an ambulance to ambulance transfer. He will be in the neonatal ward at Shifaa hospital in Gaza where, God willing, his mother and family can come to visit him.
He will have a long recovery ahead of him, so please be praying for him. There is much good that has been done in his young life that could not have been done elsewhere to begin to correct his very complex heart. We are thankful for the care Hassanein has been given that has already changed his life for the better.
Hassanein needed to be re-intubated yesterday at Sheba hospital. His heart stopped for some minutes, CPR was performed and he was stabilized. He seems to be a strong boy.
Hassanein’s grandmother is taking very good care of her beloved grandson and it is nice to see her when we go to the hospital.
Please pray for continuing strength for her and as well as for Hassanein, that he might continue to grow well.
Yesterday in the evening, Hassanein was extubated, somewhat unexpectedly. It had been projected that Hassanein would be with mechanical ventilation for two to three weeks more. He is on oxygen now and doing well.
This is wonderful news for this sweet boy; please continue to be praying for him and for all that lay ahead.
Today the Sheba Medical Center provided Hassanein’s grandmother the option of getting out of the hospital for one day. The doctors told us they wanted to try to extubate Hassanein today and that it is up to her if she still would like to go or rather stay.
She decided to go out for a bit, so co-worker Teresa and I collected her together with another mother from the hospital and went to our community home in Jaffa. They met the other families there, and ate lunch together with them.
Then Hassanein’s grandmother had her time at the beach. She walked with her feet in the water and took her break from hospital atmosphere for a moment. She shared with us that beside Hassanein’s mother, she has eleven more children and all of them are healthy. What a great gift from God. After spending time at the beach with her, we were sitting in the park for a while, just enjoying the fresh air. I’m thankful that God is giving us so much joy through these little moments.
When we came back, there was another joyful moment as we saw little Hassanein, lying in his bed, successfully extubated and crying. It was lovely to see this and his grandmother was very happy.
Still Hassanein has a way to go and he needs to grow, so your prayers are much appreciated.
One of the doctors of the pediatric ICU at Sheba hospital is trying to coordinate Hassanein going to another hospital for rehabilitative therapy.
Hassanein’s recovery will take time because his body is quite underdeveloped; please pray that there is a place for him at a rehab hospital, possibly Alyn Rehabilitation Hospital in Jerusalem.
Hassanein’s grandmother is a wonderful and strong lady, and she seems committed to his care, so thank God for a guardian like her to be with this small boy.
Hassanein is still recovering in Sheba hospital from his surgery and catheterization yesterday. Doctors couldn’t give us more information and we have to be patient to see how Hassanein’s health status develops.
When I saw Hassanein laying in the room in the ICU, I was impressed again by the ability of the doctors to do a surgery with this little tiny body, I also used the opportunity to pray for him, while his grandmother was outside the room.
How great that our Lord is caring for his creation and that he is already with Hassanein in these first days of his life.
In order to begin to repair Hassanein’s heart, which has five heart defects, he needed to undergo a procedure at Sheba hospital which was a combination of a catheterization to place a stent in his heart, and a surgery to do a pulmonary artery banding.
After his surgery, he was transferred to the cardiac ICU instead of the neonatal ward he was in before surgery. His grandma was extremely happy and optimistic about the operation. She kept in contact with Hassanein’s mother in Gaza who was anxiously waiting for news of her boy.
Please be praying especially that Hassanein will grow, as he is still just over a kilo at three months old, and that no problems develop in his recovery.
Hassanein is a new baby from Gaza, arrived via ambulance to Sheba hospital today. His arrival was unlike the usual procedure for urgent children. He wasn’t taken to the children’s hospital, he was actually admitted to the neonatal ICU in a different building entirely.
He is currently only a little over one kilo even though he was born in mid July. He has a twin in Gaza, which is part of the reason his mother did not accompany him as his guardian. Instead, his maternal grandmother is with him as he goes through surgery.
I went in briefly to the neonatal ICU, but wasn’t allowed to stay long and could speak only to the nurse and Hassanein’s grandma. I was not allowed a visit with Hassanein.
Please be praying for his life which seems so fragile now and for his grandma who is adjusting to the new hospital setting.
Hassanein returned to Gaza today by an ambulance to ambulance transfer. He will be in the neonatal ward at Shifaa hospital in Gaza where, God willing, his mother and family can come to visit him.
He will have a long recovery ahead of him, so please be praying for him. There is much good that has been done in his young life that could not have been done elsewhere to begin to correct his very complex heart. We are thankful for the care Hassanein has been given that has already changed his life for the better.
