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This Is What Recovery Looks Like:

February 29, 2008 by Jeremy · Leave a Comment 

Ariana napAria smiling with momRebar recovery

Jeremy Courtney lives and loves in Iraq as a co-founder and Executive Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. He's also the father of two spectacular children, and married to the lovely Jessica Courtney. When not absorbed in PLC work he can be found writing songs and singing about hope and future. Follow Jeremy on Twitter: @JCourt.

The Embassy

February 29, 2008 by Jeremy · 449 Comments 

The Embassy

Today we had a meeting with US Embassy brass working in the North. We initiated the contact a few weeks ago while seeking out funding for an art exhibition we are hosting here in April through Buy Shoes. Save Lives.

Since we’re committed to keeping all our profits for heart surgeries, we needed to seek outside funding for the art gallery – the primary purpose of which is to raise awareness of Kurdish art and mobilize civil society to play a helping role in the reconstruction process.

We were very encouraged by the response of the Embassy’s team to Buy Shoes. Save Lives. in general, and the proposal for the art exhibition in particular. The only two criticisms they had was that our budget was too small and that our venue was too small.

We are specifically asking for the Embassy to send a delegation to the installation, so I think the security concerns surrounding a high profile diplomat entering a crowded bazar for a photo op was on their minds.

The best hint of their approval for the project came when they requested a second meeting with us a few hours later to reformat the proposal into beuarocrat-speak and further discuss the implications of USAID funding for a for-profit business.

In our off hours between meetings we beefed up our marketing budget and will likely be pursuing an even higher profile for the event as a result.

Among the most exciting things was their eagerness to lend their name to the event and their insistence that they help us deliver invitations to all the appropriate ministers and diplomats on our list.

On a personal level, one of the suits was interested to hear more due to the fact that his son suffered from a hole in his heart as a child and was adversely affected by the limited healthcare available in East Asia where they were living at the time.

In other BSSL news, the Relevant Magazine interview we did is finishing its run on stands this week and has single-handedly produced almost $10,000 in sales!

Thanks for tracking with us!

J

Jeremy Courtney lives and loves in Iraq as a co-founder and Executive Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. He's also the father of two spectacular children, and married to the lovely Jessica Courtney. When not absorbed in PLC work he can be found writing songs and singing about hope and future. Follow Jeremy on Twitter: @JCourt.

Close February with Some Love…

February 29, 2008 by Jeremy · 1 Comment 

The month of February has been a month of love for Buy Shoes. Save Lives. Thanks to Relevant Magazine and the journalism of Jason Boyett, February is likely to be our first $5,000 month in online sales! We’ve been hovering in the $4,000/month range for a while, but this month we’re trying to push it over the top. We currently lack $43.00 to reach our (completely arbitrary!) goal.We just thought we’d let you know in case you had been pining for two shirts before the end of the month!

For the Kids of Iraq,

Cody and Jeremy 

Jeremy Courtney lives and loves in Iraq as a co-founder and Executive Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. He's also the father of two spectacular children, and married to the lovely Jessica Courtney. When not absorbed in PLC work he can be found writing songs and singing about hope and future. Follow Jeremy on Twitter: @JCourt.

catch up

February 27, 2008 by Jeremy · 925 Comments 

We’ve got lots of news to catch you up on. Four of our kids have undergone their heart surgeries in the past week! On February 18th both Juliana and Rebar had their turns. Then Aria on the 21st and Hussein on the 24th. And all of them have come through with flying colors!

Juliana (pictured below- calling family back in Iraq) underwent a 7 hour surgery to repair multiple heart defects that were risking her life- narrowing of the vessels and a hole in the interior wall of the heart. In her second day after surgery she already looked better, with the blue tinge in her skin gone!

Aria has had a little more difficulty recovering than most of the other kids do.  But he’s now looking better, beginning to eat more normally and being monitored closely for some blood pressure problems. 

Rebar was transferred out of the intensive care unit only 2 days after his surgery and has been recovering at rapid speed. And Hussein as well has had a smooth recovery and is on his way back to normal health. These kids seem to bounce back so quickly that it’s hard to remember how severely their heart problems were affecting them before.

Four surgeries. One week. And lifelong impact that no one can count.

Ariana phone

Jeremy Courtney lives and loves in Iraq as a co-founder and Executive Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. He's also the father of two spectacular children, and married to the lovely Jessica Courtney. When not absorbed in PLC work he can be found writing songs and singing about hope and future. Follow Jeremy on Twitter: @JCourt.

Biggest Smile in Jordan

February 27, 2008 by Jeremy · 602 Comments 

Arya is out of the ICU and doing just fine! When I met up with Arya he was hanging out with his mother and several other moms. These mothers all have at least one thing in common and that is their children have all had open heart surgery.

Arya is eating, drinking, and sleeping well not to mention that he sports one of the biggest smiles in all of Jordan.

Later on in the day as he waited for a post-op echo he once again flashed his pearly whites for the camera letting me know all is well.

Jeremy Courtney lives and loves in Iraq as a co-founder and Executive Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. He's also the father of two spectacular children, and married to the lovely Jessica Courtney. When not absorbed in PLC work he can be found writing songs and singing about hope and future. Follow Jeremy on Twitter: @JCourt.

Arya Awake and Eating Chocolate Pudding

February 22, 2008 by Jeremy · 444 Comments 

It was a wonderful sight to see little Arya laying peacefully in his bed in ICU.  Just one day after seeing him struggle with his blood pressure he is now in good stable condition.  He is off mechanical ventilation, awake and even able to eat chocolate pudding as well as being able to drink a little milk.  Sounds like he’s on his way.  His mom is so relieved and encouraged. I can never find her in one place for very long.  She is going around the corridors telling everyone the story of why she has such a smile on her face.  We love to see this kind of joy that only a grateful heart can display.

Jeremy Courtney lives and loves in Iraq as a co-founder and Executive Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. He's also the father of two spectacular children, and married to the lovely Jessica Courtney. When not absorbed in PLC work he can be found writing songs and singing about hope and future. Follow Jeremy on Twitter: @JCourt.

Surgery Went Well; Arya Not Yet Stable

February 21, 2008 by Jeremy · 419 Comments 

Arya left for the surgical ward around 8am this morning. This was a total relief to his mom who was worrying that he would endure yet another delay in the plan to see her child in a state of recovery and renewed health. The problem began late last night when the medical staff alerted the doctors that Arya was running a high temperature. The response of the doctors was to stall the plans for his surgery until this morning, placing him on a ‘watch list’ to see if the fever came down sufficiently to prevent any risk during his operation.

We are happy to report that he was given approval and off to the operating room he went… The surgery was lengthy as expected and he was transported to ICU late this afternoon. During our visit, we observed that Arya was demonstrating a convulsion-like body tremor and I headed for the nurses’ station to find out what was happening. Apparently his blood pressure keeps elevating and peaks and then falls very low. He has been sedated to force him to rest and is not considered stable at this time. The surgery went very well, so the staff are confident that his condition will improve by morning.

Jeremy Courtney lives and loves in Iraq as a co-founder and Executive Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. He's also the father of two spectacular children, and married to the lovely Jessica Courtney. When not absorbed in PLC work he can be found writing songs and singing about hope and future. Follow Jeremy on Twitter: @JCourt.

The Wait is Over

February 20, 2008 by Jeremy · 943 Comments 

The wait is over! Being the last of the Iraqi children who came over the border on December 31, 2007, Arya has now been admitted to Wolfson Medical Center for surgery scheduled for tomorrow morning, February 21st. The complexity of his heart condition and the severity of the operation necessitated the delay.

For Arya’s mother, the months of heartache while watching other children go into the hospital and subsequently return and leave for home was quickly becoming unbearable for her to behold. We are pleased to tell you that today, we saw Mom jumping for joy and speaking as clearly as she could in English, “I love you, I love you” as she stood in the pediatric ward smiling from ear to ear as she told us how God answered our prayers.

Jeremy Courtney lives and loves in Iraq as a co-founder and Executive Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. He's also the father of two spectacular children, and married to the lovely Jessica Courtney. When not absorbed in PLC work he can be found writing songs and singing about hope and future. Follow Jeremy on Twitter: @JCourt.

Live from Iraq – Buy Shoes. Save Lives. Podcast #1

February 12, 2008 by Jeremy · 2 Comments 

Thanks for tracking with us… press play below or visit us on iTunes to hear our most recent – and first ever group – podcast, Live from Iraq.  In this installment, we discuss the scope of the problem facing Kurdish children with heart problems, Relevant Magazine’s tremendous contribution to our work in Iraq, and the likelihood that all of us volunteers here will die from the black lung.  With you, Jeremy and Cody 

Jeremy Courtney lives and loves in Iraq as a co-founder and Executive Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. He's also the father of two spectacular children, and married to the lovely Jessica Courtney. When not absorbed in PLC work he can be found writing songs and singing about hope and future. Follow Jeremy on Twitter: @JCourt.

A New Ball for Ayra

February 10, 2008 by Jeremy · Leave a Comment 

For several months now, women from a local church have volunteered to come along on visits to the families both at Wolfson Hospital and at the house where the families reside while waiting before and after surgery. Today was a special day for all. New toys donated from an organization in the United States were taken by taxi to the moms and kids along with new shoes and lots of hugs.

We are very happy to have taken part in making these Iraqi families’ lives a little brighter. And you can see how delighted Arya was with his new ball!

We thank everyone who has had their heart touched for this work, and responded by giving freely of their abundance.

Jeremy Courtney lives and loves in Iraq as a co-founder and Executive Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. He's also the father of two spectacular children, and married to the lovely Jessica Courtney. When not absorbed in PLC work he can be found writing songs and singing about hope and future. Follow Jeremy on Twitter: @JCourt.

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