Death Will Never Conquer
March 4, 2011 by Jeremy · 5 Comments

Yahya passed away early this morning after an all-night surgery. It was a surprise to everyone. When he was admitted to the ICU there seemed to be plenty of confidence that he would be just fine. But within just 30 minutes of admission his heart gave out and all efforts to revive him failed.
I still remember the first time I was introduced to Yahya. It was over a year ago. His uncle called my cell phone and said, “I’m at your office, I need to talk to you about a sick kid.”
It was after hours and I was already at home. But I could hear the urgency in his voice so I invited him to my home for tea. He arrived and made an impassioned plea for Yahya – his brother’s son. I was leery of helping Yahya after reading his reports – we had seen some children with complex heart defects like him die abroad and I couldn’t stand to put a family through that drama again. I did my best to avoid commitment and send Yahya’s uncle into the night without any solid hope for his nephew.
The following weeks were filled with phone calls and followup from the family, “Please help our boy!”
Finally, I met Yahya’s mom and dad and the little cutie himself. As they sat in my office they pled with humble urgency. They weren’t forceful. They weren’t rude. But they applied enough pressure on me that I couldn’t say “no” any longer. They made it abundantly clear that they understood the risk of his surgery and that they wanted it badly enough to endure whatever might come.
One of our core values as an organization is that we give “hope to the hopeless.” What that means is that we try to balance our impulse to be “last chance” people with our instinct to be “long-term” people. We held back on Yahya, wondering if it would give him long-term viability. But we ultimately dove in with Yahya’s family because we were their last chance. No one else would take on the risk.
We solidified this core value in November 2009 when we asked you what to do about a little boy named Ramyar. We asked you if you wanted us to apply your money in a high risk surgery or save it for a “sure thing.” You overwhelming said, “We want this Coalition to be about hope for the hopeless.”
We haven’t looked back since. We are the Last Chancers.
Still, committing to Yahya was full of complications. His surgery in Turkey was canceled due to an unavailability of an expensive assistant device. In fact, there was even discussion as to whether or not he should be included in our current Remedy Mission. Ultimately, we let the family themselves decide.
Our local cardiologist, along with our American surgeon, explained the risks of surgery, the option of waiting, etc. etc. Yahya’s dad was given a 50/50 chance of survival for little Yahya. Understandably, they wanted to give it a try. They couldn’t stand the risk of feeling like they had an opportunity to try and let it slip through their hands.
What would you have done? I have two kids – 5 and 3 years old. I have no idea what I would have done.
During Yahya’s surgery our Family Services Director, Jessica, sat down in the ward with all the parents whose kids were either in surgery or in critical condition in the ICU – those families whose kids were not “out of the woods” yet. As they asked questions about our organization and how long we’ve been working here, she recounted for them our past of taking children outside the country to significantly nicer hospitals than this Iraqi version in which we currently work. She told them about excellent American-trained Turkish doctors and fancy, pristine protocols abroad. Without fail, every family was so grateful for the chance to receive surgery at home. Let the Turks have their pristine hospital. “What if our child were to die abroad?” That would be a burden far too great to bear.
You gave Yahya’s family a chance that no one else would have. He had been rejected by every other opportunity out there. They are grateful to you. They will rest knowing they gave it their all for their only child.
And this is what we find almost universally – parents who just want a chance. And that’s what Remedy Missions are all about. We could continue to export kids to world class facilities, but who would invest in the future? We could continue to select the easiest children that almost never die, but does that make us any less culpable for the kids we pretend aren’t knocking on our door?
Was this a wasted opportunity? Did we waste the $670 that it cost us to provide Yahya surgery?
I used to feel that way when a child died in Turkey or Jordan or Jordan. I don’t feel that way anymore. Yahya’s death – though a terrible loss – was still an opportunity for local doctors to learn an innovative technique that they will be able to apply in future situations. His death was almost certainly unrelated to the particular tactic used in attempting to heal his heart. Educational gains always have significant costs. Before we only had the “we gave this child a chance” platitude. It’s not untrue. But local learning is an equally deep reason why your gift for Yahya made a difference.
Thank you for your willingness to stick with us through life and death. The gains that are needed here will not be made without significant risk and vision. We deeply appreciate your demand that we be the people of the last chance. I think it’s easier to sleep knowing we tried, than knowing we played it safe just so we could publish numbers and blog posts that seem more palatable.
With you,
Jeremy Courtney
Executive Director
email: http://scr.im/jcourt
+1 (806) 853-9131
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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. |
Remember Yahya? His Wait For A New Heart Ends Today!
March 3, 2011 by Cody · 1 Comment

Remember this boy?
When we first met Yahya he was five years old and we were trying to send him overseas for his lifesaving operation.
The doctors told us that he needed a valved conduit – so we went in search for the piece that could save his life. We found it. The only problem was that the Turkish government was revising their import laws and the local supplier was out of stock.
Because we couldn’t bring Yahya and the device together to Turkey, we were forced to cancel his surgery.
Now Yahya is nearly six years old and he has still been waiting for his heart surgery.
Everything changed when Dr. William Novick told us that he could fix Yahya’s heart without depending on a valved conduit that was half way across the world.
Today he will create the piece that we hope will save Yahya’s life!
The best part (from a macro perspective) is that this is something he’s going to introduce to the local surgeons so that Yahya and all the other children in Iraq waiting in line for $7,000 devices don’t have to go overseas. Furthermore, whereas current devices certainly need replacement, there is a good chance this technique will allow the piece to grow with Yahya’s body. Best case scenario: Yahya may not need a re-operation like he would have from the expensive name brand.

Eventually, they might be able to insert valved conduits by the hands of their local doctors here in Iraq!
We’ve loved our journey with Yahya and today is a milestone for all of us. And all 38 of you who gave to his surgery!
It’s a milestone for Yahya because he’ll be given the surgery his parents have been waiting six years for.
It’s a milestone for the local surgeons because they will begin to learn a groundbreaking, life-changing technique.
It’s a milestone for you because you’re helping us create local long-term solutions to local problems.
Follow Yahya as he get his new heart TODAY!
If you’re on Twitter this week be sure to use the #RemedyMission hashtag to describe all the good news coming out of Iraq this week via @preemptivelove.
With help from our friends:

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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: |
It’s The Day Before Parzheen’s Surgery And She Can’t Wait To Run!
March 2, 2011 by Cody · 2 Comments

Meet Parzheen.
She’s four and a half years old and was born with a congenital heart defect that wasn’t discovered until she was three years old.
If you ran into this beautiful girl outside of the hospital, you probably wouldn’t even notice that she had a heart defect.
It wouldn’t be until you saw her run, play, and laugh that you would notice how quickly she became tired. A year and a half from now you would notice it when she wouldn’t be able to walk to school with the rest of the children. When she’s at school, you would notice her not having the strength to stay awake in class.
But tomorrow Parzheen is being given the surgery that’s going to change all of that!
It will let her run to school.
It will let her interact with her classmates at school.
It will give her the chance to try out that jump rope that she’s never had the strength to conquer.
It will save her life.
Parzheen goes into surgery in the next few hours.
Stay with us as we follow her story!
If you’re on Twitter this week be sure to use the #RemedyMission hashtag to describe all the good news coming out of Iraq this week via @preemptivelove.
With help from our friends:

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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: |
Ajeen And Haymen Are Going To Change The Future Of Healthcare In Iraq
March 1, 2011 by Cody · 1 Comment

Today I had the chance to sit down and chat with Ajeen and Haymen, two young ICU nurses in Northern Iraq.
Haymen is living his dream. After his father died in 1991 from heart disease, he dedicated his life and career to taking care of others with the same condition. It wasn’t until 2005, when the nursing college began to accept males due to the huge demand for nurses in Iraq, that he actually got to do what we had wanted to do all along…mend hearts.
Ajeen was placed in the nursing college by the government but from day one, she knew she was going to love it.
“I love working in the ICU because I know I’m doing something worthwhile. I know I’m helping”, she said as she kept glancing at her patient, lying on a bed next to her.
Haymen was finishing his eight hour shift. “This is so beautiful, to have these teams here. They work so hard. They never leave a patient’s side unless they know they’re completely taken care of.”
Ajeen pitched in, “They never stop. It’s like they never get tired of taking care of these children. Because of them being here though, now these children can live. Now they have a chance. They don’t have to go overseas to be operated on.”
I asked Haymen what he’s learned today and he immediately answered back, “Yesterday, to give these children more oxygen in their lungs after their operation, I was hitting their back with my hands. I would feel awful because it was hurting the children and it wasn’t even giving them anymore oxygen. Today, they taught me a better way. They taught me to use an oxygen mask to gently pound up and down their back and it didn’t hurt the children! Their lungs got more oxygen than I ever knew how to give them. I’m learning so much from them.”
“They’re teaching us to become great nurses”, Haymen said proudly.
“I have so many questions for them, I’m only waiting for a chance to ask them all.”
Why do we believe in Remedy Missions? Because we believe in Ajeen and Haymen.
To show your support for Ajeen and Haymen and become a part of the Remedy, join our community of lifesavers by clicking HERE!
If you’re on Twitter this week be sure to use the #RemedyMission hashtag to describe all the good news coming out of Iraq this week via @preemptivelove.
With help from our friends:

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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: |














