After the successful echo today, Meer’s doctor released him at last to Kurdistan. Everything is fine and he can go back home completely healed. What a joy. We celebrated it all together with the community at the farewell party, shared words of encouragement, ate cake…
Little Meer is very excited for going home and understands pretty well that he is going to see his mother and the rest of the family very soon. He couldn’t wait anymore and repeatedly said “Let’s go to Kurdistan,“ in Kurdish.
It was a nice good bye and the families who are spending time in the Jaffa guesthouse currently, were standing outside and waving to Meer and is father when we departed for the airport.
Please pray for a good journey and arrival for sweet Meer and his father.
It is always fun to go to medical appointments with Meer and his father.
Meer is a really happy little boy, who enjoys playing a lot. He had to go to Sheba Medical Center today for another blood test and to see the hematologist, as his INR levels are still not in the right range.
Meer played with the toys in the waiting area, which made the waiting time pass by more quickly. The doctor was kind and gave Meer a toy car which Meer liked a lot and was busy playing with for much of the time.
Meer had to do an INR test, which was the only time that he cried today, as it involves a finger jab. But he calmed down shortly after.
The outcome of today’s visit is that there is a change with one of the meds for Meer, a med that helps to arrange his INR levels. Incorrect INR levels seem to be the only thing keeping Meer and his dad here right now. Meer’s father is eager to go back to Kurdistan because of his work and family. The cardiologist said if the INR levels are something their doctor in Kurdistan could work with, then Meer could theoretically be discharged. Please pray for that.
Meer will see his cardiologist in the next coming days and she will make an informed decision regarding a long-awaited discharge to Kurdistan.
Today cute Meer and his father had to come to Sheba hospital for another blood test indicating Meer’s INR level.
The blood test showed that the INR is not okay yet so Meer and his father can’t fly back to Kurdistan yet. They have an appointment on Sunday to see the hematologist.
Meer’s father understands this and wants just the best for his beloved son, but he and Meer as well are also looking forward to going home soon to be reunited with their family.
Please pray that the appointment on Sunday might brings some clarity and can help Meer.
Today Meer’s father hoped so much that Meer would be cleared to go back to Kurdistan.
After Meer’s echo…
and ECG….
– all at Sheba Hospital this morning, the doctor agreed from the cardiac standpoint that his heart is in a good condition. Meer’s father was very caring during these appointments as always, and tried to keep Meer calm during the examination.
Then Meer’s dad asked about Meer’s lungs and the liquid build-up there, but after a little check-up with the echo, the result was also positive
At the end, the doctor decided to see Meer on the next Thursday again to make some tests. They want to keep him here this week especially because of the INR level, which was different yesterday, to make sure that everything is okay.
I’m very glad to see that the doctors at Sheba are very careful and thoughtful about every decision and want to make sure that every child is absolutely well before releasing them.
Please pray that Meer will be cleared to go back to his family in Kurdistan on Thursday, may it be God’s will
Meer was discharged again from Sheba Hospital to our house in Jaffa today. His catheterization didn’t make his oxygen level higher yet, so Meer will try some new medicine to see if this will improve his oxygen level.
In two weeks, Meer will have an echo. If he has improved, he can go back to Kurdistan. Which would be really nice. His father is taking such good care of Meer, but he would of course like to go home to the rest of the family.
Meer’s cath was very successful today. The doctors used the cath to find out the reason for Meer still having low oxygen levels and combined the cath with a treatment. The treatment was mainly to dilate the artery.
When I visited Meer after the cath, he was still very tired but already interested and curious about his surroundings.
Please pray for an improvement of Meer’s condition.
We all loved having Meer and his really kind father at our community home in Jaffa this weekend. He is a cute and happy boy and loves to play.
Today he was readmitted to Sheba Children’s hospital for a catheterization tomorrow. His oxygen is still quite low so the doctors in the hospital are hoping that the cath might help with that.
He had to wait for some time today before he could go into his room, but luckily he was not upset about it as he could play with soap bubbles and the train in the children’s echo area of the hospital.
Please pray for Meer and his father for their time in the hospital now and that they are able to go back to Kurdistan soon.
Meer is doing a lot better the last couple of days. His oxygen levels are still not very good all the time, but Meer is stable enough to come to our Jaffa house for the weekend.
This coming Monday, he will return to Sheba hospital to have a catheterization. But for this weekend, we will enjoy their presence in Jaffa.
After contracting pneumonia last week, Meer has been recovering slowly in Sheba hospital. We found him sitting up and sharing lunch with his dad today.
His oxygen levels were unstable for the last couple of days, but today he has done much better. He’s still not feeling well, though, and his dad says he doesn’t want to eat much.
Please pray that this sweet boy will make a full recovery soon.
This afternoon in our community home, Meer’s dad was concerned about his son’s oxygen. We tried three different machines and all of them were reading his saturation in the mid 60’s. Since his operation, Meer’s oxygen has fluctuated, but also he has had the persistent problem of fluid in his lungs.
We waited a bit, and Mir ate and drank some water. When he was laying down to rest his oxygen read in the 80’s, which was concerning.
Meer’s cardiologist was really helpful and in contact as this was going on, and she said that if we were worried, to not hesitate to bring him to the hospital to be checked. So we took him to Sheba Medical Center Pediatric ER. Thank God the effusion in his lungs was about the same based on the x-ray done tonight and the last one of his hospitalization, but he was running a fever and the doctors saw that he has pneumonia.
So Meer was admitted to the hospital to be treated with antibiotics and monitored. Meer’s father and I were both relieved we had brought him, and thanked God for helping us come to that conclusion.
Thank you for your prayers for Meer and please continue to pray for him.
Meer is without oxygen support since yesterday! That is great news. Today his blood test results were good enough to send him to our house in Jaffa. In a week, he needs to go back to the hospital for a check-up.
Also his right lung needs to be checked because doctors found this lung is smaller than his left lung. If it causes too many problems, he might need another surgery. Hopefully there is another solution possible. Please pray for this.
In the meantime, we are happy that Meer can stay with us in Jaffa. He is a little shy, but very cute.
When I entered his Sheba hospital room, Meer was playing with some gifts from the hospital, as you can see in the picture.
Good news is, Meer had an echo today which showed there is no fluid in his lungs anymore. Praise God.
Meer will stay in the ICU a few more days for his recovery. He is getting oxygen right now, because his oxygen level is very low and his father is very worried about that. But the doctor told us it’s normal, because after Meer’s big surgery, the changes are first kind of an adjustment for the heart and it usually gets better after a bit of time. They will check about this in particular and decide maybe to do a catheterization if it’s not getting better in the next days.
Meer’s father is thankful for the steady recovery of Meer.
Meer isn’t feeling well, but thankfully all of his vitals are stable. His condition is very good and improving. After such a long surgery, I wasn’t surprised Meer wasn’t feeling well and not feeling up to having guests.
Please continue praying for his recovery. Pray that God’s hand would be upon Meer, and would bring his father comfort.
I went to Sheba hospital to check on Meer this morning before his surgery and he decided I would need a checkup from a very capable doctor, him. He was a very good doctor making sure to wear gloves and clean up my wounds. Seeing Meer so lighthearted and playful before surgery was very encouraging.
When he entered into surgery, Meer’s father was very calm and strong. It was a long and very complicated surgery. Doctors at Sheba were able to successfully complete a triple procedure: the Fontan, Glenn, and DKS.
Thank the Lord it was successful, and he was beginning to wake up after a few hours. Prayers for healing and strength for Meer are appreciated.
Sweet Meer had his diagnostic catheterisation today. His was the third slot of the day, and as he was fasting ahead of the anesthesia, a difficult morning for this little three year old boy.
It was good to see him and his father again, as I do remember them very well since their last time in Israel two years ago. Meer looks almost exactly the same as before, just quite a lot bigger. He is still the pride of his father, who cares for him tenderly.
He was very pleased that Meer is developing well in respect to all areas, he can walk, talk, eat and play like any other child. There’s just the problem in his heart, requiring two more surgeries. His father was pleased that the doctors found that Meer’s pressures were good and that he seems to be operable.
We hope that the surgery will be able to be scheduled soon for Meer.
Little Meer was admitted to Sheba hospital today to make ready for his catheterization tomorrow.
Having arrived at the hospital late this evening, Meer was ready to play as soon as he got in the ER area, climbing up on a statue of a fish within minutes.
The hospital had a room ready for Meer as soon as he arrived. We are thankful they were able to settle in to the hospital early in the evening to rest before the catheterization tomorrow.
Meer had an echo and several other tests and was seen by a cardiologist today at Sheba Medical Center. Meer was seen by a doctor, had his echo and several other tests done.
Meer cried a bit during his examinations, but his father is really taking good care of him and managed to calm him down. It is nice to be witness of their beautiful relationship.
The outcome of the echo today is that Meer will have a diagnostic catheterization before he can have his surgery. Doctors will discuss his case in the following days.
Please be praying for a surgery soon, as because of his father’s work back in Kurdistan, it’s not easy for him to wait for a long time here in Israel.
Today Co-worker Julio and I had the privilege of collecting three new families from the Airport, including the lovely boy Meer and his friendly father seen left here above.
They have been to Israel some years ago already and Meer underwent heart surgery. After that he was discharged in a good condition and sent back to Kurdistan.
Meer has returned for his next surgery. He is accompanied by his father. Meer remained in stable condition throughout the flight.
Meer and his father are quarantining in our Jerusalem Guest House for one week. Then they will transition to our Jaffa base.
On Tuesday, Meer will have his first appointment with the doctors at Sheba hospital. Please pray for a good settling-in time for Meer and is father.
After the successful echo today, Meer’s doctor released him at last to Kurdistan. Everything is fine and he can go back home completely healed. What a joy. We celebrated it all together with the community at the farewell party, shared words of encouragement, ate cake…
It was a nice good bye and the families who are spending time in the Jaffa guesthouse currently, were standing outside and waving to Meer and is father when we departed for the airport.
Please pray for a good journey and arrival for sweet Meer and his father.
