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WE HAVE KIDS IN SURGERY RIGHT NOW! THROUGH THESE STORIES WE'RE INVITING YOU TO BE A PART OF THE NEXT LIFESAVING SOLUTION. GET TO KNOW THESE KIDS & PLEASE GIVE WHAT YOU CAN FOR THE NEXT GROUP! |
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Consult with Samaritan’s Purse Doctor; Suggests Children for Surgery in Istanbul
December 21, 2009 by Jessica · Leave a Comment
Baby Mohammed was diagnosed with Transposition of the Great Arteries (or TGA) moments after being born and was sent to have his aorta pierced by catheterization so that his blood would mix enough to keep him alive long enough to grow a little before a very difficult surgery of switching these arteries to their proper place on his heart. Now, six months later we will be taking him to the Anadolu Medical Center in Istanbul, Turkey to get the surgery that will save his life.
Above you see him with cardiologist Dr. Kirk Milhoan of Samaritan’s Purse on a recent trip to northern Iraq to pre-screen children for surgery as a part of Samaritan’s Purse’s Children’s Heart Project.
Mohammed was very sick a few weeks ago and his oxygen saturation dropped below 65%. When he had the chance to be seen by Dr. Kirk his saturations were over 86%. Dr. Kirk confirmed the diagnosis and recommended him for surgery in January.
Thanks to the amazing year we’ve had and the generosity with which you’ve given, we’ll be able to send Mohammed to Surgery.
Follow Mohammed on Twitter: @MohammedUmed. Subscribe to Mohammed’s updates via RSS HERE. Follow Mohammed’s thread of longer stories (with pictures & video) on the PLC blog HERE.
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Mohammed is slated for surgery in January 2010. We will be collecting money for his life-saving surgery throughout the Thanksgiving and Christmas season. What a chance to make a profound difference in the life of a child and his family! | |||
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GENERAL DONATION
Donate the amount of your choice to fund Mohammed and our January group by entering it in the field below. All donations made before January 2010 will go to help the Preemptive Love Coalition send Mohammed (and any others in his group) to life-saving heart surgery.
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Jessica Courtney lives and loves in Iraq as a co-founder and Family Services Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. She is also a mother of two children and is married to PLC's Executive Director, Jeremy Courtney. When not absorbed in caring for Iraqi children and sharing life with Iraqi families, she enjoys sewing and scrapbooking. |
Shwana Gains Weight; Prepares for School Midterms 7 Months Post-Op
December 20, 2009 by Jessica · Leave a Comment
We visited Shwana in his village today, arriving only two hours before his mid-term test. He sat politely with us talking about football and playstation then excused himself to go study for his test. Sitting under the kitchen window for light (because his house doesn’t have electricity during the day) he and his brother studied together.
We sat in the other room talking over their chants of memorization in the background. His mother proudly explained how he has now outgrown all of his clothes that were falling off his body before his surgery just 7 months ago. Weight gain can be a great sign of health in a post-op child!
His father arrived from his job as a teacher just before lunch in time to quiz Shwana a little before he needed to leave. The entire family exuded happiness and pride in him as we ate a delicious Kurdish meal. After a very quick lunch, Shwana left and hurried to school so he wouldn’t be late for his test.
It was a great day with his family and we are excited with him that what you made happen with a single surgery in Istanbul, Turkey has led to a completely normal life for Shwana back in Iraq.
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Jessica Courtney lives and loves in Iraq as a co-founder and Family Services Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. She is also a mother of two children and is married to PLC's Executive Director, Jeremy Courtney. When not absorbed in caring for Iraqi children and sharing life with Iraqi families, she enjoys sewing and scrapbooking. |
Honya is Doing Great Back at Home in Her Village in Iraq
December 3, 2009 by Jessica · Leave a Comment
We visited Honya and her family this morning and she looks great. The incision from her amazing heart surgery is almost completely healed and she finally has enough energy to learn to sit up on her own and to crawl around for the first time. Only 20 days after surgery she is acting like a normal 9 month old and her fingers and cheeks have a wonderful pink hue. We watched family videos from the last 4 days of the holiday here in Iraq.
Follow 9-month-old Honya on Twitter: @honyamahdi. Subscribe to Honya’s updates via RSS HERE. Follow Honya’s thread of longer stories (with pictures & video) on the PLC blog HERE.
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Jessica Courtney lives and loves in Iraq as a co-founder and Family Services Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. She is also a mother of two children and is married to PLC's Executive Director, Jeremy Courtney. When not absorbed in caring for Iraqi children and sharing life with Iraqi families, she enjoys sewing and scrapbooking. |
3 Year Old Mazyar Shows More Energy Than Anyone After His Life-Saving Heart Surgery!
September 16, 2009 by Jessica · 2 Comments
Today we visited Mazyar and his family in their home here in Iraq. It was so much fun seeing this spunky little boy run, chase, and throw balls all around his house with his older sister and I. I remembered playing ball with him in the hospital, tossing a soccer ball back and forth very gently so he wouldn’t get too tired.
Today there was no caution! It was every man (or woman) for themselves as he sent ball after ball flying in our direction. Mazyar was very creative, too, throwing, rolling, and kicking the ball to us keeping us guessing how and where the next one would land. After about 45 minutes of playing ball he brought out some toy cars for a less intense way to enjoy our time together.
It is unbelievable to see this child only 6 weeks out of surgery acting as ”normal” as any 4 year old. He has finished all medications and it looks like he’s set to go on to living a near fearless life with his mom, dad and older sister!
Thanks for all you’ve done to save Mazyar’s life. Your impact on him and his family in deep and undeniable!
Follow 3-year-old Mazyar on Twitter: @mazyartahir. Subscribe to Mazyar’s updates via RSS here. Follow Mazyar’s thread of longer stories (with pictures) on the PLC blog here.
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Jessica Courtney lives and loves in Iraq as a co-founder and Family Services Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. She is also a mother of two children and is married to PLC's Executive Director, Jeremy Courtney. When not absorbed in caring for Iraqi children and sharing life with Iraqi families, she enjoys sewing and scrapbooking. |
Walk On: Mazyar Traverses the Hospital Campus, Plays Ball Just Days Post-Surgery
July 28, 2009 by Jessica · Leave a Comment
Walking and coughing - two of the most important things a child can do after receiving a very invasive heart surgery. And Mazyar is doing both stellarly!
When we went for a walk with Mazyar in the park today outside the hospital in Istanbul, Turkey, the coastal air was refreshing and it was perfect weather for Mazyar to strut his stuff - just four days after going in to repair a large whole between the two ventricles of his heart.
Follow 3-year-old Mazyar on Twitter: @mazyartahir. Subscribe to Mazyar’s updates via RSS here. Follow Mazyar’s thread of longer stories (with pictures) on the PLC blog here.
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Jessica Courtney lives and loves in Iraq as a co-founder and Family Services Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. She is also a mother of two children and is married to PLC's Executive Director, Jeremy Courtney. When not absorbed in caring for Iraqi children and sharing life with Iraqi families, she enjoys sewing and scrapbooking. |
Meet Mazyar
July 20, 2009 by Jessica · Leave a Comment
Mazyar is a cute little three year old boy from the city in Iraq where PLC has our office. Like many of the children we know about, Mazyar’s condition is very complicated. He received an operation last year in Tehran, but it was only stage one of a full-correction. PLC is coming alongside his family in this second surgery in as many years to help Mazyar receive the full correction - and hopefully the full life - that every parent wants for their child.
Mazyar also has a cleft lip. We have made inquiries into charitable surgical options for him while in Turkey, but as yet we have not made any definitive plans for a cleft correction.
Follow 3-year-old Mazyar on Twitter: @mazyartahir. Subscribe to Mazyar’s updates via RSS here. Follow Mazyar’s thread of longer stories (with pictures) on the PLC blog here.
NOTE: In accordance with PLC’s desire to lend a hand-up by avoiding strict hand-outs (when possible), Mazyar’s family has funded approximately $2,500 of PLC’s highly-discounted surgery price themselves.
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Jessica Courtney lives and loves in Iraq as a co-founder and Family Services Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. She is also a mother of two children and is married to PLC's Executive Director, Jeremy Courtney. When not absorbed in caring for Iraqi children and sharing life with Iraqi families, she enjoys sewing and scrapbooking. |
Meet Mohammed
July 20, 2009 by Jessica · Leave a Comment
Mohammed is eleven years old with a fourfold combination of heart problems called Tetralogy of Fallot. The doctors expect that his quality of life will be significantly improved by a relatively routine (still plenty difficult) heart surgery in Istanbul this week.
Mohammed and his family hail from one of the more “hot bed” regions of Iraq along the fault line of semi-autonomous Kurdish and Arab areas.
We always enjoy taking older kids to surgery because, though there is a considerable risk for older children, it’s always a joy to experience the journey with them and to hear them express in their own words the impact that a surgery makes on their well-being. Look for more of Mohammed’s own words and gratitude on the blog as the week goes on.
Follow 11-year-old Mohammed on Twitter: @mohammedgaelan. Subscribe to Mohammed’s updates via RSS here. Follow Mohammed’s thread of longer stories (with pictures) on the PLC blog here.
NOTE: In accordance with PLC’s desire to lend a hand-up by avoiding strict hand-outs (when possible), Mohammed’s family has funded approximately $5,000 of PLC’s highly-discounted surgery price themselves.
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Jessica Courtney lives and loves in Iraq as a co-founder and Family Services Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. She is also a mother of two children and is married to PLC's Executive Director, Jeremy Courtney. When not absorbed in caring for Iraqi children and sharing life with Iraqi families, she enjoys sewing and scrapbooking. |
Meet Ruzhan
July 20, 2009 by Jessica · Leave a Comment
We met Ruzhan through a community of American’s on the northern border of Iraq who recommended her to PLC for surgery a few months ago. What’s more, the business they run and all of their staff came together to actually fund 50% of Ruzhan’s surgery themselves and donated that money to PLC.
Follow 8-year-old Ruzhan on Twitter: @ruzhanferis. Subscribe to Ruzhan’s updates via RSS here. Follow Ruzhan’s thread of longer stories (with pictures) on the PLC blog here.
NOTE: In accordance with PLC’s desire to lend a hand-up by avoiding strict hand-outs (when possible), Ruzhan’s family has funded $2,500 of PLC’s highly-discounted surgery price themselves.
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Jessica Courtney lives and loves in Iraq as a co-founder and Family Services Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. She is also a mother of two children and is married to PLC's Executive Director, Jeremy Courtney. When not absorbed in caring for Iraqi children and sharing life with Iraqi families, she enjoys sewing and scrapbooking. |
Four More Children to Travel to Surgery
July 20, 2009 by Jessica · Leave a Comment
Tuesday afternoon PLC staff will travel with four children to the Anadolu Sağlık Merkezi in Istanbul, Turkey where they hope to receive life-saving heart surgery at the hands of Dr. Sertaç Çiçek. We are excited to introduce them to you one by one throughout the day today here on the PLC blog. We are in the final process of waiting for cooperative funding and passports before boarding the plane in a little over 24 hours. More pictures and stories to come…
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Jessica Courtney lives and loves in Iraq as a co-founder and Family Services Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. She is also a mother of two children and is married to PLC's Executive Director, Jeremy Courtney. When not absorbed in caring for Iraqi children and sharing life with Iraqi families, she enjoys sewing and scrapbooking. |
All Smiles as Children leave ICU
February 19, 2009 by Jessica · Leave a Comment
This is a visual post to let you all see how much the children are enjoying their newly repaired hearts. It is amazing to see pink cheeks and big smiles where we once saw withdrawn scared little faces. So here they are. Enjoy these images and thank you on their behalf for all you have done to help them get to surgery.
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Jessica Courtney lives and loves in Iraq as a co-founder and Family Services Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. She is also a mother of two children and is married to PLC's Executive Director, Jeremy Courtney. When not absorbed in caring for Iraqi children and sharing life with Iraqi families, she enjoys sewing and scrapbooking. |
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