1: What are you trying to accomplish?
2: What's your evidence that you can accomplish it?
3: How is it possible that you can provide an open heart surgery in Iraq for less than $1,000? Is that the full cost?
4: So is that the same thing as saying that my donation doesn't really make a difference? That the "up to 85%" funded locally by those inside Iraq is all that is really necessary to make this work?
5: Any other costs?
6: What is the bottleneck to more surgeries: money or skilled labor?
7: I'm skeptical of non-profits and charities because they always seem to be asking for more money. How can I be sure that Preemptive Love Coalition has "room for more funding" and that I'm not paying into a huge savings account, "Rainy Day Fund", or something similar?
8: Do you have enough volunteer surgeons available for unfunded Remedy Missions? (i.e., are there trips that you could fund if you had more money, or is there a labor bottleneck?)
9: Many heart surgeries require follow-up treatment (including additional surgeries). Do you have a way of providing these to patients?
10: How do you assess whether surgeries are completed competently and appropriately?
11: What is the rate of complications during and following surgery?
12: How do you assess whether surgeons are performing additional surgeries that they would have not had the funding or motivation to perform otherwise?
13: How do you assess whether surgeons are charging their patients for the surgeries you fund?
14: Do you follow up with the surgeons you've trained to assess whether they are correctly applying their training?
15: What information is available on the activities - and competence - of the surgeons you've trained?
16: Where do surgeons work after completing training? Do they serve poor patients?
17: How much do you spend each year on "program" expenses and how much on "overhead?"


----------

 Q: What are you trying to accomplish?

A: Train Iraqi heart surgeons and nurses so they can eradicate the backlog of tens of thousands of Iraqi children waiting in line for lifesaving heart surgery. [Back to Top]

 Q: What's your evidence that you can accomplish it?

A: Each year we continue to increase Iraq's total number of pediatric cardiac surgeries with new surgeries in Iraqi centers that would not - indeed could not - have been accomplished otherwise. Ministry of Health (MOH) officials speculate 500 surgeries were accomplished in 2009 (of which we provided 23 - 4.6% - outside the country). The addition of our 82 surgeries in FY 2010 - to the 500 baseline - for a total of 582 approximated surgeries, represents an increase created by PLC of 14% over 2009. In FY 2011 we anticipate increasing Iraq's total number of pediatric cardiac surgeries to at least 719 (or another 19% over FY 2010 directly attributable to our surgeons and our training).

Each year the local teams with which we work will become more proficient, and each year they will independently take on a larger case load than they could have the year before. None of these figures yet account for that additional output.

In March 2010 the Iraqi Ministry of Health asked us to expand our work to three additional sites. In May 2010 we began additional discussions about establishing a fellowship program in which international surgeons and nurses would take up residence in the Iraqi system to train locally for 40 weeks out of the year.

Our model does not rely strictly on volunteers because the level of need in Iraq outstrips what we could reasonably supply through volunteer labor alone. Accordingly, we set our budgets so as to actually contract the international surgical and nursing staff we need to accomplish our mission.

Sure, this increases the cost-per-mission (and thereby, cost-per-child) over early "mission" models in which volunteerism was idealized and training was not necessarily prioritized. But our contract labor + volunteerism model is inarguably the only way to create a nationwide quarterly training program and fellowships inside Iraq with international experts across approximately 6-8 surgical sites. Moreover, our model does not face the same sluggishness of learning that other surgery organizations suffer because we do not have the same rates of turnover; we have incredible consistency across our programs and missions. [Back to Top]

 Q: How is it possible that you can provide an open heart surgery in Iraq for less than $1,000? Is that the full cost?

A: The "less than $1k" numbers we routinely publish represent the amount in "program costs" we spend from our international donor money. The figure does not necessarily account for every single management, overhead, or fundraising expense.

Our total expenditures for FY 2010 were $188,919. We performed 82 surgeries during the same period for a per child total of $2,304 (though this data is a bit moot moving into 2010-11 as we abandon our very expensive "surgery exports" program(s) in Turkey, etc. and focus henceforth on more cost-effective in-country surgeries alone).

When all of our Remedy Mission partners are taken into consideration - including the Iraqi Government, medical companies that donate medicines and supplies, and local organizations - the real Remedy Mission cost to all donors is in the range of $5,400 - $7,000. Put another way, up to 85% of the total cost of a single surgical/training mission is now subsidized by local, Iraqi constituent institutions. [Back to Top]

 Q: So is that the same thing as saying that my donation doesn't really make a difference? That the "up to 85%" funded locally by those inside Iraq is all that is really necessary to make this work?

A: There is not a single site across Iraq for which our Remedy Missions are fully funded. If we fail to provide our 15-19% of the overall budget, Remedy Missions fail, surgeons and nurses do not get trained regularly, on-site audits from our international team do not happen, up to 20 children are delayed from receiving surgery, and a few may even die or become inoperable. Your role in funding the remaining 15-19% is as critical in the short term as any other entity. A single Remedy Mission is binary - it either happens or it doesn't. Your money makes it happen. But our goal is to continue to graduate all our programs so they are 100% funded locally in the next 5-10 years. [Back to Top]

 Q: Any other costs?

A: Our numbers per Remedy Mission do not account for "indirect costs," such as the cost (or value) of our volunteer medical staff from around the world, costs to local healthcare systems, the cost of a family to travel to the surgery site, the opportunity costs of lost income for families as they wait for surgery, etc. The reason we think it's important to note this here is because lifesaving is actually quite difficult. Building a pediatric cardiac surgery system for the entire country of Iraq is laborious and full of complexities. [Back to Top]

 Q: What is the bottleneck to more surgeries: money or skilled labor?

A: People often assume that the biggest need is more Iraqi heart surgeons. We could use a few more, but the real bottleneck is skilled nurses, technicians, and non-surgical physicians. A surgeon is only as good as his support staff. One of our biggest challenges is training pediatric cardiac intensive care nurses. To date, we haven't found a better model than our Remedy Missions through which we bring quarterly hands-on training to local nurses (and surgeons) in Iraq. Rather than exporting the nurses to Europe or the USA for training (whose medical systems barely resemble the Iraqi system), we train them with what they have on hand in their local environment. [Back to Top]

 Q: I'm skeptical of non-profits and charities because they always seem to be asking for more money. How can I be sure that Preemptive Love Coalition has "room for more funding" and that I'm not paying into a huge savings account, "Rainy Day Fund", or something similar?

A: For the record, we are skeptical of non-profits as well! In 2012 PLC needs $350,000 on hand at any given time to cover our cash flow needs for up to three Remedy Missions per quarter. We are still 30% under-funded against that goal. In addition to cash flow needs, we still require 15-19% funding on most of our missions after local sources contribute their portion; we have un-funded pilot programs in new cities where local doctors have been requesting our help (but where weve yet to woo local philanthropists or health directors); and we have research and social service initiatives through our Followthrough program that require funding at present because we have not yet sought local funding for those initiatives (seeing as how they relate mostly to our Monitoring & Impact Evaluation objectives). Please see our "Funding Gap" page to look deeper into our anticipated program costs, the sources of funding we are counting on, and the funding gap between the two for the next few years. [Back to Top]

 Q: Do you have enough volunteer surgeons available for unfunded Remedy Missions? (i.e., are there trips that you could fund if you had more money, or is there a labor bottleneck?)

A: Great question! We use a hybrid volunteer/staff model. Roughly 25-30% of any one of our Remedy Mission teams is employed by the International Children's Heart Foundation (typically the surgeon, scrub nurse, anesthesiologist, ICU doctor, and often a part-time ICU nurse). The remainder of the team typically comprises volunteer physicians, technicians, and nurses from across the world. Because the hardest-to-come-by positions are contract labor for us and NOT volunteers, we have never failed to run a mission for lack of personnel. We have only cancelled or turned down a request for a future mission due to lack of funding. [Back to Top]

 Q: Many heart surgeries require follow-up treatment (including additional surgeries). Do you have a way of providing these to patients?

A: Yes, we do. Our model dictates quarterly visits to each program site (a hospital inside a regional hub). Our reliance on local cardiologists ensures that the local team prioritizes and almost entirely sets the agenda for patient selection (within a development curricula) - after all, Iraqi doctors are the ones who are most intimately connected to the patients and their daily progress! When a local cardiologist sees a child who has either (1) deteriorated and requires another intervention or (2) advanced as expected to the next step of a complex, staged intervention, the child is prioritized for follow-up treatment. [Back to Top]

 Q: How do you assess whether surgeries are completed competently and appropriately?

A: Because we are a broker and play a combination administrative and financier role in the coalition of partners working in Iraq to develop pediatric cardiac care, we are able to stand in-between the local surgical team and the international surgical team (whom we contract as a third-party to train and perform surgeries in Iraq). If the local team or health directorate suspects a lack of competence in the international team, a cavalier attitude, or a single poor judgement call, our role is to be the go-between - to be the advocate for the local healthcare providers vis-a-vis the international surgical team.

Similarly, if the international surgical team feels pushed by the local surgical team to perform procedures with which they are uncomfortable or for which they think the local system is ill-prepared, they are able to refuse children for surgery and/or use us (PLC) as a go-between.

The checks-and-balance between the two teams helps us ensure surgeries are performed in a competent, appropriate manner. [Back to Top]

 Q: What is the rate of complications during and following surgery?

A: We report our in-hospital and 60-day mortality after each Remedy Mission. You can finds those numbers here. We also produce reports after each Remedy Mission detailing the trip, including data on intraoperative complications, post-operative complications, and mortality. You can find those reports here. We are also deliberately raising the funds necessary to help us bring our various heart hospitals into compliance with the International Quality Improvement Collaborative for Congenital Heart Surgery in Developing Countries. If this kind of quality improvement and reporting initiative interests you, we are currently looking for financial partners for our Followthrough program. [Back to Top]

 Q: How do you assess whether surgeons are performing additional surgeries that they would have not had the funding or motivation to perform otherwise?

A: Pediatric heart surgery in Iraq is almost nonexistent without our work. There are two active programs for relatively simple surgeries (one in Erbil and one in Baghdad). Local surgeons claim that combined they perform no more than a few hundred pediatric surgeries a year. In every location where we work, pediatric heart surgery is effectively nonexistent. Therefore, every surgery performed at our program sites (both when we are present and when we are not) are "additional surgeries" that they would not have had the SKILL to perform without the FUNDING we employed to train them in their local environment. [Back to Top]

 Q: How do you assess whether surgeons are charging their patients for the surgeries you fund?

A: Because we work in public (government) hospitals - and because healthcare in Iraq is provided almost entirely free of charge - it is widely known that any cardiologist, surgeon, or administrator seeking compensation for services is acting outside of Iraqi law. [Back to Top]

 Q: Do you follow up with the surgeons you've trained to assess whether they are correctly applying their training?

A: We see them quarterly in their local environment and perform real-time audits of their skills, recollection of past training, application of new techniques, etc. Additionally, our international surgeon remains on call at any time via phone, Skype, or email for consultation. [Back to Top]

 Q: What information is available on the activities - and competence - of the surgeons you've trained?

A: Because our Remedy Mission training program only began in late 2010 - and pediatric heart surgery at our sites across Iraq is the same age - there is still relatively little independent practice to report, and therefore little data on the activities and competence of our surgeons and their teams. But as they begin performing more surgeries independently, we are trying to align each site/surgical team with the International Quality Improvement Collaborative for Congenital Heart Surgery in Developing Countries (a data collection and tracking initiative of Children's Hospital Boston and Harvard University). [Back to Top]

 Q: Where do surgeons work after completing training? Do they serve poor patients?

A: As of Q2 2011 there was only one private hospital in Iraq (to our knowledge) providing pediatric heart surgery (and those surgeries were on the lower end of the complexity scale). Our work does not necessarily mean to exclude private hospitals as they continue to come online and become viable options, but at present the government system has a better equipped foundation for training local surgical teams. As we look to fully graduate our local surgical teams in the next 5-10 years, we imagine that most of them will stay in the public sector for all of the stability, pensions, and benefits of loyalty provided to those who stick with it. But, undoubtedly, some will seek positions at private hospitals (assuming private hospitals are willing to invest in the requisite capital purchases necessary to establish a credible program). In the public sector, rich and poor are served alike. In the private sector, poorer patients would be at an obvious disadvantage. [Back to Top]

 Q: How much do you spend each year on "program" expenses and how much on "overhead?"

A: As a rule, we do not adhere to the model that claims that "overhead" is somehow bad and "program" is somehow good. There are very bad program expenses. There are overhead expenses that are excellent investments. We agree with Paul Brest, President of the Hewlett Foundation, when he said, "Achieving a low overhead ratio drives many charities to behaviors that make them less effective and means more, not less, wasted dollars." Therefore, we spend as much on overhead as we need to accomplish our mission. The mission itself is our North Star - not arbitrary (even harmful) standards about overhead-vs-program expenditures. For the record, however, you can find a current pie chart of our expenditures here (and if you're into that sort of thing, you'll probably be impressed!). [Back to Top]

Jeremy Courtney Founder, Executive Director Twitter: @Jeremy_Courtney

“I'd love to hear any critique or questions you might have!”

DROP A NOTE OR DONATION BY MAIL: Preemptive Love Coalition 1300 Darbyton Dr. Hewitt, TX 76643 GIVE BY PHONE: To make a gift over the phone, using your credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover), please call +1 (806) 853-9131 during normal business hours. IRAQ OFFICE: +964 770-355-6298 (local)

Just “A Little Longer” For Anwar

December 9, 2010 by Cody · Leave a Comment 

This is Anwar. He’s homeless. He was also born with a congenital heart defect.

If you spend any time with Anwar and his mother, you quickly learn that they wouldn’t want any of those things to define them. Anwar would rather be known for his love for soccer. He’s in 1st grade but he can’t stand school, mainly because it takes him away from his father.

His father is a skilled farmer. They used to live down by the Kuwait-Iraq border and work on a farm where Anwar loved nothing else but to spend the whole day working alongside his dad.

Then the land ran out of water and they were forced to move further north.

When Anwar was one month old they found out about his heart defect. They traveled to Basra to see local doctors but they told them that they didn’t have the equipment they needed to save Anwar’s life. Even if they were able to buy the equipment, they still needed to be trained on how to use it. Regardless, they told them to just “wait a little longer”.

They went back every month to see if the machines arrived but for 6 years they were continually turned away.

Anwar’s only choice was to go overseas to a country that had the right machines and the doctors who knew how to use them. But it was a choice his family couldn’t even consider because of the cost.

Whatever savings they had was continually being put towards staying warm in the winter. If Anwar gets cold, his body begins to shake and his heart condition worsens. Because of that, all their money goes towards buying kerosene to keep the heaters burning.

This winter that kerosene bill may just be a little less because Anwar heads into surgery within the next hour! The doctors have the machines they’ve been waiting for and now they’re receiving the training they need to use the machines for the very first time!

Now, Anwar truly only has to wait “a little longer.”

Stay tuned…

Cody Fisher is the co-founder and Development Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. He moved to Iraq in 2007 where he met his wife and since then they've been waging peace and mending hearts across Iraq. His passions are photography, peacemaking, and food that doesn't come out of a can. You can follow him on Twitter: @candmfisher.

Fatima Takes Her Victory Lap Around The ICU

December 9, 2010 by Cody · Leave a Comment 

One of the many unique characteristics about the surgical team from the International Children’s Heart Foundation, is how they view children.

They view them as being incredibly strong; more strong and capable than everybody seems to give them credit for.

Most times, they extubate immediately because they believe their heart and lungs will rise to the challenge.

Each time, the child is walking around the room within what seems to be just a few hours after the operation.

They do these things each time because they believe these children can handle it. They seem to draw out the strength and courage from each child.

Fatima is another glorious example of this. Today she did laps around us in the ICU, showing us more confidence with each step.

This is only a warmup for her return to her village. After all, it will be the first time they’ve seen her run!

Cody Fisher is the co-founder and Development Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. He moved to Iraq in 2007 where he met his wife and since then they've been waging peace and mending hearts across Iraq. His passions are photography, peacemaking, and food that doesn't come out of a can. You can follow him on Twitter: @candmfisher.

Ahmed’s Mother Dances With Joy

December 9, 2010 by Cody · Leave a Comment 

“I saw him, I saw him! I saw my son!”

Those were the words that Ahmed’s mother kept repeating over and over again, all the while carrying the biggest smile on her face. She had just been allowed to go into the ICU to see Ahmed, just a few hours after they finished his operation.

During the surgery, Ahmed’s mom let go of the anxiety that all the mothers in the hospital try so much to contain. She faced the corner of the room and wept while Ahmed was gone.

The tears only gave way to laughter and excitement after the nurses let her see for herself how strong Ahmed was becoming!

While all the mothers here relate to the anxiety of having a sick child, Ahmed’s mother is the fifth this week that can experience the joy of a successful operation.

But then again, watching all the other mothers in the room laugh and rejoice with her makes me think that her joy isn’t just being felt by her.

Cody Fisher is the co-founder and Development Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. He moved to Iraq in 2007 where he met his wife and since then they've been waging peace and mending hearts across Iraq. His passions are photography, peacemaking, and food that doesn't come out of a can. You can follow him on Twitter: @candmfisher.

An Entire Village Waits For Fatima

December 9, 2010 by Cody · Leave a Comment 

So from one village to another, Fatima and her grandmother can’t even put in words how grateful they are for people out there who care.

People who care enough to give. People who care enough to come.

On behalf of all of us at Preemptive Love, thanks for saving Fatima today.

Stay tuned…

Remedy Missions are international pediatric heart surgery teams that we bring to Iraq to perform lifesaving heart surgeries and develop the infrastructure for the future. This Remedy Mission is made possible by the Vice President of Iraq, Living Light International, and the International Children’s Heart Foundation. If you’re on Twitter this week be sure to use the #RemedyMission hashtag to describe all the good news coming out of Iraq via @preemptivelove and @babyheart_org. If you’re on Facebook, “Share” this story with the button below.

Cody Fisher is the co-founder and Development Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. He moved to Iraq in 2007 where he met his wife and since then they've been waging peace and mending hearts across Iraq. His passions are photography, peacemaking, and food that doesn't come out of a can. You can follow him on Twitter: @candmfisher.

Why Things Have To Change And Why They Can

December 9, 2010 by Cody · Leave a Comment 

This morning I printed off a questionnaire used by local doctors here to find out more information about why so many children are born in Iraq with congenital birth defects.

Have you ever filled out a questionnaire like this?

Excerpt from questionnaire:

(Start the interview by telling the parent the following: Since there are so many children with leukemia and birth deformities here locally, we want to look into the possible causes of these problems. We need your help. We need to ask you some questions to help us understand this situation. We also need to be able to contact you later. Please give us your contact information.)

Questions to Ask:

1. How many children do you have?
2. Do you have neighbors who are unrelated to you, and have children with similar health problems as your child?
3. Have you had spontaneous miscarriages?
4. Have you had still births?
5. Where did you live in 2003, during the bombings?
6. Please tell us which cities, town, or localities you have resided in since 2003.
7. Were any of your residences bombed?
8. Were you at your residence during or after the bombings?
9. Do you remember how long the attack continued?
10. Were any of your neighbors’ homes bombed?
11. Do you know if your house was attacked with white phosphorus or any incendiary weapons?
12. Were you ever burned, wounded, or injured in bombings?
13. Were any family members burned, wounded, or injured in the bombings?
14. In the last 7 years, have you searched and recovered survivors, wounded, corpses,cleaned and prepared bodies for burial, searched bodies for identification, or transported any of these people?
15. Did you clean up the rubble, recover your things from the rubble or rebuild your house on the rubble?
16. Have your children played in bomb craters, buildings, construction sites or collected materials salvaged from sites that have been bombed?”

These questions seem surreal to me. What was more surreal was reading their answers.

Each day we’re brought to the hospital in an armored caravan of SUV’s, surrounded by security.

Is anybody else longing for a day when we don’t have to explain what “white phosphorous” is and when we won’t need any more armored vehicles to protect doctors?

We believe in Remedy because we believe things aren’t supposed to be this way. We also believe that we can take a step in the right direction with your help.

Thanks for all you are doing!

Remedy Missions are international pediatric heart surgery teams that we bring to Iraq to perform lifesaving heart surgeries and develop the infrastructure for the future. This Remedy Mission is made possible by the Vice President of Iraq, Living Light International, and the International Children’s Heart Foundation. If you’re on Twitter this week be sure to use the #RemedyMission hashtag to describe all the good news coming out of Iraq via @preemptivelove and @babyheart_org. If you’re on Facebook, “Share” this story with the button below.

Cody Fisher is the co-founder and Development Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. He moved to Iraq in 2007 where he met his wife and since then they've been waging peace and mending hearts across Iraq. His passions are photography, peacemaking, and food that doesn't come out of a can. You can follow him on Twitter: @candmfisher.

Ritha’s Heart Only Gets Stronger The Second Day

December 8, 2010 by Cody · Leave a Comment 

On the second day, little Ritha continues to rest as Haydar came next to him in the ICU after another successful heart operation. The local male nurses in the ICU gave in to Ritha and let him play with a giraffe stuffed animal. At first they told me he should be playing with something more “manly”, like a dog!

Who wants to send us over some manly toys? (They’re for the kids. We promise.)

Thanks to those manly ICU nurses, Ahmed’s on schedule to be out of the ICU in less in than 24 hours!

Check back on Ahmed!

Remedy Missions are international pediatric heart surgery teams that we bring to Iraq to perform lifesaving heart surgeries and develop the infrastructure for the future. This Remedy Mission is made possible by the Vice President of Iraq, Living Light International, and the International Children’s Heart Foundation. If you’re on Twitter this week be sure to use the #RemedyMission hashtag to describe all the good news coming out of Iraq via @preemptivelove and @babyheart_org. If you’re on Facebook, “Share” this story with the button below.

Cody Fisher is the co-founder and Development Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. He moved to Iraq in 2007 where he met his wife and since then they've been waging peace and mending hearts across Iraq. His passions are photography, peacemaking, and food that doesn't come out of a can. You can follow him on Twitter: @candmfisher.

Ahmed Goes Into Surgery

December 7, 2010 by Cody · Leave a Comment 

Ahmed is a five month old boy from Southern Iraq. When Ahmed was born, his family knew from his blue lips that there was something wrong but they had no idea it was his heart. Ahmed’s parents were told, like too many, that there was no hope for Ahmed to be operated on in Iraq. His best and only hope was to be sent abroad for surgery.

Ahmed’s father owns a local shop and his mother is a teacher but she’s been without a job for the past two years. One income in Iraq simply isn’t enough to afford all the costs that go into sending your child abroad for surgery.

It was because of their situation that local doctors called them last week, urging them to bring in Ahmed for surgery.

I asked Ahmed’s mother what her reaction was when she heard that Ahmed could be operated on here in Iraq. She just smiled and said, “How can I possibly describe that feeling?”

Ahmed is going into surgery within the next few hours.

Stay tuned…

Remedy Missions are international pediatric heart surgery teams that we bring to Iraq to perform lifesaving heart surgeries and develop the infrastructure for the future. This Remedy Mission is made possible by the Vice President of Iraq, Living Light International, and the International Children’s Heart Foundation. If you’re on Twitter this week be sure to use the #RemedyMission hashtag to describe all the good news coming out of Iraq via @preemptivelove and @babyheart_org. If you’re on Facebook, “Share” this story with the button below.

Cody Fisher is the co-founder and Development Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. He moved to Iraq in 2007 where he met his wife and since then they've been waging peace and mending hearts across Iraq. His passions are photography, peacemaking, and food that doesn't come out of a can. You can follow him on Twitter: @candmfisher.

Teaching Others The Remedy

December 7, 2010 by Cody · Leave a Comment 

Remember when you were little and people would ask you what you wanted to be when you grew up?

We all wanted to be doctors or astronauts, didn’t we? Being around the medical team from ICHF makes me want to give the next 8 years of my life to medical school, I admit it. If you’re in the middle of med school already, don’t give up. It’s going to be worth it. If you don’t believe me, come with us to the next Remedy.

What I’m learning more and more from this team isn’t just the importance of people wanting to become doctors when they grow up, but the importance of people wanting to grow up to teach and inspire others to become doctors. If one person becomes a doctor or a nurse, it’s a great thing. But if that one nurse or doctor trains others to become like them, and then they turn around and train more…who makes the greater impact?
This is one of the most beautiful pieces of Remedy. Teaching.

Dr. Bob Arnold is a pediatric cardiologist. He’s traveled the world training and instructing others on the best practices of cardiology. His first night here a man came up to him saying that he was one of his students that he taught when he was in Baghdad in the 1990’s. Now that student is helping complete Iraq’s newest cardiac center for children here in Southern Iraq.

Today I spent time shadowing Dr. Arnold as he took echos and continued teaching throughout the process. I spent a few moments with one of his new students, a young Arab doctor and aspiring cardiologist, Dr. Gaither. Dr. Gaither went on about the value of what he’s learned already even just after the first few hours. Then he started to talk about the importance of working with other countries. “Each country needs to work together”, he said, “we all have so much to learn from each other.”

That’s it, isn’t it?

We all have so much to learn from each other. People teaching one other. Nations teaching nations.

These two weeks of Remedy are profoundly shaping the lives of everybody involved. I guess it all started with someone, long ago, who wanted to teach someone else how to be a doctor.

Stay tuned…

Remedy Missions are international pediatric heart surgery teams that we bring to Iraq to perform lifesaving heart surgeries and develop the infrastructure for the future. This Remedy Mission is made possible by the Vice President of Iraq, Living Light International, and the International Children’s Heart Foundation. If you’re on Twitter this week be sure to use the #RemedyMission hashtag to describe all the good news coming out of Iraq via @preemptivelove and @babyheart_org. If you’re on Facebook, “Share” this story with the button below.

Cody Fisher is the co-founder and Development Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. He moved to Iraq in 2007 where he met his wife and since then they've been waging peace and mending hearts across Iraq. His passions are photography, peacemaking, and food that doesn't come out of a can. You can follow him on Twitter: @candmfisher.

Remedy Begins in Nasiriyah with Ritha’s Surgery

December 7, 2010 by Cody · Leave a Comment 

When we arrived at the hospital this morning, it seemed like the staff had been working through the night to receive Dr. Novick and his team. Ritha, the first child on dock for surgery, was already prepped and waiting in the operating room while the nurses and doctors were all in scrubs waiting for orders.

I rushed into the Operating Room to see little Ritha before he was operated on but the room was the size of a large closet and it could barely hold the small army already in the room.

Their goal for 7 year-old Ritha was nothing short of a complete correction.

At four this afternoon I went into the ICU to see Ritha, who had already been walking around after his operation. The surgery went excellently and he was given the complete correction they had hoped for! Ritha was the perfect child to start off the second Remedy. His strength filled the hospital with hope as they brought in Haydar to be operated on next.

Stay tuned…

Remedy Missions are international pediatric heart surgery teams that we bring to Iraq to perform lifesaving heart surgeries and develop the infrastructure for the future. This Remedy Mission is made possible by the Vice President of Iraq, Living Light International, and the International Children’s Heart Foundation. If you’re on Twitter this week be sure to use the #RemedyMission hashtag to describe all the good news coming out of Iraq via @preemptivelove and @babyheart_org. If you’re on Facebook, “Share” this story with the button below.

Cody Fisher is the co-founder and Development Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. He moved to Iraq in 2007 where he met his wife and since then they've been waging peace and mending hearts across Iraq. His passions are photography, peacemaking, and food that doesn't come out of a can. You can follow him on Twitter: @candmfisher.

From The Green Zone

December 6, 2010 by Cody · Leave a Comment 

Once again, I’m in a new place witnessing things that have never been seen before – because of you.

Right now I’m overlooking the Tigris river, blogging from inside the Iraqi Vice President’s home. It used to be one of Saddam Hussein’s fifty palaces, and before that it was a palace for King Faisal. Now it’s the staging ground for the the city of Nasiriyah’s first Remedy Mission!

Last August, the combined efforts of the Kurdish Regional Government, Living Light International, Kurdistan Save the Children and YOU allowed us to welcome a medical team from International Children’s Heart Foundation to the city of Sulaimania, and we’re honored to be hosting another surgical team.

We call these missions “Remedy” because they’re answers for equipping hospitals, training local doctors, mentoring nurses, and saving the lives of children who no longer have to be sent overseas for a chance at life.

This time, we’re witnessing Remedy take place for the first time all over again in the city of Nasiriyah. Like most Iraqi cities, Nasiriyah boasts a rich heritage, perhaps the richest being the ancient birthplace of Abraham. And like all cities in Iraq, it’s growing and progressing in every way. While honoring their past they’re choosing to invest in a better tomorrow.

Saddam drained the swamps surrounding Nasiriyah, but now they’re reversing the damage and restoring the swamps to their former vitality.

Chemical warfare was used against the people of Nasiriyah, and now they’re building the hospitals necessary for treating the fall-out.

Saddam gave them eight mass graves, but now they’re choosing to build parks, hospitals, schools, and mosques in honor of their murdered friends and family.

One of those hospitals is the Nasiriyah Heart Institute, where over 20 children will be given life-saving heart surgery over the next 12 days!

Thanks to Living Light International, the Vice President of Iraq, the International Children’s Heart Foundation, and you…tomorrow will be the first day of another Remedy!

Stay tuned…

Remedy Missions are international pediatric heart surgery teams that we bring to Iraq to to perform lifesaving heart surgeries and develop the infrastructure for the future. This Remedy Mission is made possible by the Vice President of Iraq, Living Light International, and the International Children’s Heart Foundation. If you’re on Twitter this week be sure to use the #RemedyMission hashtag to describe all the good news coming out of Iraq via @preemptivelove and @babyheart_org. If you’re on Facebook, “Share” this story with the button below.

Cody Fisher is the co-founder and Development Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. He moved to Iraq in 2007 where he met his wife and since then they've been waging peace and mending hearts across Iraq. His passions are photography, peacemaking, and food that doesn't come out of a can. You can follow him on Twitter: @candmfisher.

« Previous Page — Next Page »

SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTER






Get our good news stories straight into your reader or inbox for free!


OUR BLOGGERS

	Matt Willingham is the PLC press secretary and writes primarily on politics, history, general updates and visual peacemaking through photography and film.
	Cody Fisher is a PLC cofounder and writes primarily on program development and peacemaking by giving us a lens into the lives of the real people we love.
	Jeremy Courtney is a PLC cofounder and writes primarily to emphasize our vision and values, including organizational and financial transparency.

Preemptive Love Coalition provides lifesaving heart surgeries for Iraqi kids in pursuit of peace between communities at odds. We offer the 30,000 Iraqi children suffering from life-threatening heart defects a chance at the surgery they need to save their lives. With our world-class international surgical partners we create long-term solutions by training local Iraqi doctors and nurses so they can sustainably save lives without our help.

• Popular Tags

  Amman Arab Baghdad BSSL Buy Shoes. Save Lives. buyshoessavelives CHD children Congenital Heart Disease Development echocardiogram God heart heart disease heart surgeries Heart Surgery hope hospital Hussein ICHF ICU Internship Iraq Iraqi children Istanbul Jeremy Courtney Jordan Klash Kurd Kurdish Kurdistan nasiriyah peace Peacemaking PLC remedy Remedy Mission Rezhin saddam hussein Southern Iraq sulaymaniyah Surgery Tarza Turkey Wordless Wednesday

• Archives

  • 2012
  • 2011
  • 2010
  • 2009
  • 2008
  • 2007

• Contributors

  • Adam Brandt (4)
  • Alex Phillips (10)
  • Anton Warkenton (1)
  • Awara Hassan (6)
  • Behar Godani (1)
  • Benjamin Chasnov (1)
  • Cayla Willingham (3)
  • Claire Baker (1)
  • Cody Fisher (102)
  • Esther Perez (6)
  • Jeremy Courtney (87)
  • Jessica Courtney (20)
  • Joshua Gigliotti (23)
  • Lauren Sawyer (2)
  • Liz Jones (1)
  • Lydia Bullock (52)
  • Matt Willingham (77)
  • Preston Wright (4)
  • Ruth Simpson (16)
  • Ryan Rosenberry (2)
  • Sophia Pappas (6)
  • Ted Harrison (3)
  • Tim Mason (1)