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)

At Home With Hussain—A Followthrough Checkup

January 31, 2013 by matt · Leave a Comment 

People sometimes ask us, “So, what happens to these kids after surgery?”

It’s a great question, but it isn’t easily answered. Thanks to you and our partners, we’re now providing exponentially more surgeries than we did during our early years. What once was 20 children per year is now 20 children per mission—over 300 children this year alone!

With that kind of volume, it’s difficult to keep up with all the families we help. But we still work to follow up with as many as we can; to make sure they don’t slip through the cracks. But the nature of that Followthrough has changed. Now we spend time encouraging local doctors to follow up with families, reminding them to call families for post-operative check-ups.

And, due to safety concerns, it’s often easier for families to come see us at the hospital (the last thing we want is to disrespect our hosts!).

Going cowboy and riding a taxi into downtown Fallujah to visit a family is not a good way to maintain relationships with partners and friends of the program.

One misstep could lead to someone getting hurt, the program getting canceled, and children not getting their hearts fixed—not something we’re willing to risk.

So we’re tip-toeing into these home visits with care, and Hussain was our first. Stay tuned for (hopefully) many more to come!

As Communication Director, Matt Willingham spends most of his time trying to get the word out on PLC's work in Iraq. On the side, he likes reading stories, devouring the great food his wife cooks up, and DSLR camera work. He's also mildly obsessed with Twitter: @mehtin.

Joy That Demands Jogging—A Grandmother Runs To Her Grandson

December 30, 2012 by matt · Leave a Comment 

Maddy’s grandmother did something very unseemly when she saw her grandson: she ran to him.

In the Middle East, older and respected members of society almost never run, but Maddy’s grandmother couldn’t help her self—her boy was well!

After being smothered with kisses and hugs, our little 300th child lay down to rest for another day or two before going home. He’s almost out, and there doesn’t seem to be anything stopping him from growing up.

Thank you for giving life to this little boy!

As Communication Director, Matt Willingham spends most of his time trying to get the word out on PLC's work in Iraq. On the side, he likes reading stories, devouring the great food his wife cooks up, and DSLR camera work. He's also mildly obsessed with Twitter: @mehtin.

Maddy Update!—Health On The Rise, Attitude Over A Cliff

December 22, 2012 by matt · Leave a Comment 

Remember how confindent I was that Maddy is the sweetest, most angelic child you could possibly meet?

I’m starting to think I was wrong.

He throws things, spits medicine at nurses, and will pinch most anyone who approaches his ICU bed. Of course, when a nurse pinched him back he only giggled hysterically. Maybe it’s just the drugs?

Granted, he did have his ribcage sawed apart, pried open, and then had his insides tinkered with. I’d probably be pretty grumpy if I were in his position. Teddy Grahams and M&M candies made him smile, so at least we know of some way to bribe a smile out of him.

The most important thing, though, is that he is being released to the step-down unit; he’ll be watched a bit longer and then—assuming there aren’t any surprises—he and his grandmother will go home.

Maddy’s newly-healed heart is a source of great joy for us. If you hadn’t already heard, he is our 300th lifesaving heart surgery to date, and we’re celebrating that this Christmas by stocking up on medical supplies.

You can help us do this. God-willing, by this time next year we’ll have saved another 300 children. That means we’ll double our total lives saved in just one year!

To help us make this massive leap forward for Iraqi kids, donate below:

	$9—Stitch a Heart Our partner surgeons use high-quality stitches (called “sutures”) to fix leaky heart valves, sew up holes, and close up wounds after surgery. For just $9, you can help us save a child’s life—perfect for an office party or stocking stuffer!
	$50—Patch a Heart Our partner surgeons and nurses make heart patches for each child during their operation from a sheet of material called “Gore-Tex.” For just $50, you can fill the gap in a child’s heart and help save their life!
	$500—Package of Patches Your gift will help us buy enough material to create the patches and change the lives of ten children suffering from life-threatening holes in the walls of their hearts.
	$1,000—Heartmender Package Your gift will help us buy all the medicines, sutures, patches and a portion of the airfare for our doctors and nurses required to save one child’s life on our next Remedy Mission. In partnership with the Iraqi government, $1,000 is roughly what it costs PLC to save a life in Iraq.
	Start Your Own Fundraiser Online Today! You may feel like you only have a few dollars, but when you combine your best with those closest to you, you will quickly find that you can patch a heart—or fund an entire heart surgery—as a group. Click here to get started –>

As Communication Director, Matt Willingham spends most of his time trying to get the word out on PLC's work in Iraq. On the side, he likes reading stories, devouring the great food his wife cooks up, and DSLR camera work. He's also mildly obsessed with Twitter: @mehtin.

A Perfect Heartbeat—Maddy Made It!

December 18, 2012 by matt · Leave a Comment 

“It sounds perfect,” he whispered.

Dr. Mounaf (pictured above) was Maddy’s Iraqi surgeon-in-training during the operation, and he’s thrilled at how well the operation went. We originally thought Maddy would get a partial correction and then the final, complete correction would come later when he’d grown a bit.

But Maddy was fortunate, and his heart is now fully corrected—he won’t need another operation.

Dr. Mounaf listened to Maddy’s heart from all different angles as Frank—an ICU teaching nurse—explained the rhythms to him. Considering this is our 300th surgery, it’s exciting to see it go so well.

Thank you for making 300 of these little hearts beat correctly—they now sound the way they’re supposed to!

Stick with us. We’ll have more info on Maddy, Remedy Mission XIV, and the 300 children we’re set to help in 2013 coming soon.

Our Partners:

As Communication Director, Matt Willingham spends most of his time trying to get the word out on PLC's work in Iraq. On the side, he likes reading stories, devouring the great food his wife cooks up, and DSLR camera work. He's also mildly obsessed with Twitter: @mehtin.

Bubbly Maddy, Our 300th Child

December 14, 2012 by matt · Leave a Comment 

This is Maddy (pronounced mah-dee), the 300^th child you’ve helped us save.

If you haven’t already, watch his intro video here.

Now, I want to you imagine the cheeriest, sweetest child you’ve ever met. This isn’t rhetorical, I’m serious. You got someone in mind? Get your favorite niece or something. Now—and I don’t mean to offend—but whoever you’re imagining is a Scrooge compared to this boy.

He hugs, he dances, he giggles when they’re putting an IV in him.

We sat with Maddy and his mother after their echo screening and he just busted out laughing, squirming all over the place as the cardiologist tried to get a decent look at his heart. Every time I showed him his photos he exclaimed, “Beautiful!”

His grandmother beamed.

So many children come to us with blue faces, clubbed fingers, and the saddest face you’ve ever seen—our hearts break for them. We long to see them healed and happy.

Children like Maddy are a bit deceptive, though. He has two sisters and a brother, but his grandmother said he is still the most happy and active of the group. It was hard for the family to believe Maddy’s heart would eventually give out.

But we were able to give Maddy his operation this week after a six year wait. We’ll be reporting on his trip through the hospital over the next week, so come back for more updates on this sweet child.

	$9—Stitch a Heart Our partner surgeons use high-quality stitches (called “sutures”) to fix leaky heart valves, sew up holes, and close up wounds after surgery. For just $9, you can help us save a child’s life—perfect for an office party or stocking stuffer!
	$50—Patch a Heart Our partner surgeons and nurses make heart patches for each child during their operation from a sheet of material called “Gore-Tex.” For just $50, you can fill the gap in a child’s heart and help save their life!
	$500—Package of Patches Your gift will help us buy enough material to create the patches and change the lives of ten children suffering from life-threatening holes in the walls of their hearts.
	$1,000—Heartmender Package Your gift will help us buy all the medicines, sutures, patches and a portion of the airfare for our doctors and nurses required to save one child’s life on our next Remedy Mission. In partnership with the Iraqi government, $1,000 is roughly what it costs PLC to save a life in Iraq.
	Start Your Own Fundraiser Online Today! You may feel like you only have a few dollars, but when you combine your best with those closest to you, you will quickly find that you can patch a heart—or fund an entire heart surgery—as a group. Click here to get started –>

Our Partners:

As Communication Director, Matt Willingham spends most of his time trying to get the word out on PLC's work in Iraq. On the side, he likes reading stories, devouring the great food his wife cooks up, and DSLR camera work. He's also mildly obsessed with Twitter: @mehtin.

Exploring the Hospital Grounds With Hassin

November 24, 2012 by matt · Leave a Comment 

Hassin’s family was crammed into their hospital room when I came to visit.

They seemed very willing to talk, so we took a few minutes to talk about their journey to surgery. A lot of it was pretty standard stuff that you’re probably familiar with: they discovered his defect early on, they didn’t know what they could do for him, and then their neighbor came over for tea and told them about our team.

“This was the first time we had any hope, really,” Hassin’s grandmother shared.

During this chat, it was obvious that Hassin wasn’t in a talking mood. He kept saying something in Arabic to his father and rattling the locked door handle. They explained that he wanted to take a walk outside, and that his energy level had gone up quite a bit since the surgery. I was thrilled and asked if I could come along.

We spent about an hour walking around the hospital gardens, trying to keep up with Hassin. It was crazy to think he’d just had an open heart surgery a few days ago!

Below are several photos from our time together:

Hassin picking and playing with leaves.

Hassin telling our translator, Hassan, where he’d like to explore next.

Hassin, his father, and his cousin pose for a shot in front of the hospital fountain.

Shortly after this little excursion, Hassin and his family were released from the hospital. I guess they figured, if Hassin is well enough to terrorize the hospital gardeners, he’s probably well enough to leave. His family specifically asked if they could come visit us the next time we’re in Najaf, though, so hopefully you’ll get to see more of this sweet little boy.

Until then, thank you for helping save his life!

Our Partners:

As Communication Director, Matt Willingham spends most of his time trying to get the word out on PLC's work in Iraq. On the side, he likes reading stories, devouring the great food his wife cooks up, and DSLR camera work. He's also mildly obsessed with Twitter: @mehtin.

Hassin Is Recovering In The ICU

November 22, 2012 by matt · Leave a Comment 

Hassin, his eyelashes, and his grandma are in the ICU resting after an operation that ended up taking much longer than expected.

The cardiologist identified a hole in between the lower ventricles of Hassin’s heart, but he wasn’t sure whether or not that was the only defect that needed correcting.

Fortunately, he warned the surgeons that there may be more to Hassin’s heart than meets the eye (or the echo machine). Hassin ended up having something called Tetrology of Fallot, a four-part defect that is considered to be fairly complex. But, after nearly 7 hours in the O.R., the doctors fixed it all, and Hassin is doing great!

Now all we can do is wait for Hassin to wake up so we can try again to get that smile out of him. Stay tuned…

Our Partners:

As Communication Director, Matt Willingham spends most of his time trying to get the word out on PLC's work in Iraq. On the side, he likes reading stories, devouring the great food his wife cooks up, and DSLR camera work. He's also mildly obsessed with Twitter: @mehtin.

Hassin Is Headed To Surgery!

November 20, 2012 by matt · Leave a Comment 

Have I mentioned how much I love this little boy?

It saddens me to see children carried into the O.R. screaming their lungs out—especially considering how hard it must be for their families to watch. If it were me, I’d probably second guess everything when they carried my wailing child through those double doors.

“Is this worth the risk?”

“Will my child think I betrayed them?”

“What if they don’t survive?”

But Hassin simply waved goodbye to his family and walked away all by himself. He didn’t even need to be carried. His parents just forced a smile and grandma cupped a hand over her mouth after waving goodbye.

It was, well, kind of awesome. Hassin’s a cool customer. So cool, though, that I couldn’t get him to smile even once—not even with my ridiculous glasses! Between his poorly oxygenated blood and too much TV, Hassin was not very active or smiley.

But once the doctors patch that hole and get his heart fixed up, that’s about to be Remedied. Hassin is about to feel better and more energized than ever before. Who knows, maybe we’ll even get a real smile?

Come back tomorrow for an update on Hassin’s surgery. In the meantime, please pray for him and for the rest of these children.

More to come…

Our Partners:

As Communication Director, Matt Willingham spends most of his time trying to get the word out on PLC's work in Iraq. On the side, he likes reading stories, devouring the great food his wife cooks up, and DSLR camera work. He's also mildly obsessed with Twitter: @mehtin.

Zahraa And Her Family Snuck Out Last Night

November 16, 2012 by matt · Leave a Comment 

You can hardly blame them.

They’ve been cooped up in a small hospital room for weeks now, and late last night the doctor gave them clearance to leave. When we arrived in the morning, the family was probably happily asleep in their own beds.

But, despite not getting to see them off, we’re still celebrating. Zahraa is home now, the hole in her heart is finally closed, and she’s set to live a healthy life.

Did you miss Zahraa’s story? See more about her heart defect and her sweet family by following this link.

Remedy Mission XIII is winding down, but we’ll continue sharing more stories with you over the next two weeks.

Keep reading, there’s more to come.

Our Partners:

As Communication Director, Matt Willingham spends most of his time trying to get the word out on PLC's work in Iraq. On the side, he likes reading stories, devouring the great food his wife cooks up, and DSLR camera work. He's also mildly obsessed with Twitter: @mehtin.

“We Were About To Sell Our Home”—Getting To Know Zahraa’s Family

November 12, 2012 by matt · Comments Off 

Zahraa isn’t in the best mood right now.

I was making ward rounds visiting families and I stopped in to check on her (catch up on her story here). Immediately after exchanging our ‘salaams’ her parents asked, “Can you tell what’s wrong? She won’t stop crying, she has a fever, and she is upset whenever we touch her.”

Now, I’ve already told you guys that I’m non-medical. I don’t claim to be a doctor. But I’ve picked up a few things about post-operative care from some of the nurses, and so, after a few minutes of discussion, it became apparent Zahraa was in pain because—wait for it—she hadn’t been given her pain meds.

Yes, I figured that out all by myself. Smart, huh?

To be serious, it’s extremely frustrating to think of Zahraa spending an entire night in pain just because a local doctor didn’t take the time to come check on her and give her the necessary medication.

But we aren’t here because the place has competent doctors—it’s actually quite the opposite! We choose to work in Iraq because it’s difficult and because doctors need to learn about things like how and when to distribute medication. Slowly but surely, mission by mission, our partner nurses are writing and enforcing protocols, the surgeons are teaching (and reteaching) surgical techniques, and things are improving.

But last night was a mistake. Zahraa’s parents and grandmother (pictured above cuddling with Zahraa) were worried sick. Being non-medical, they did what they could; they bought her outrageously large stuffed animals (pictured above), tried to hold her, sing for her—nothing worked.For all they knew, their daughter was dying. Thankfully, she wasn’t. I left and brought back one of the nurses to give a more proper inspection. Zahraa took her medicine and began feeling better just a few minutes later, and she’s been fine since then.

With that resolved and the doctor on duty reprimanded (not by me), I sat down to learn more about Zahraa, her parents, and their family’s surgery search. Her father explained that they learned of her heart problem when she was eight months old and that—thank God—she’s the only one in their family with a known heart problem.

When asked about their fears for Zahraa, her father shared,

Zahraa’s parents love her with such intensity that they were prepared to make as many sacrifices as it took to help their little girl. It was obvious, sitting in their hospital room, that they were telling the truth. I’d seen how the mother and grandmother cared for Zahraa, and how the father was constantly taking breaks from work to come check in.

But, thanks to you, Zahraa’s parents didn’t have to sell their home. After years of distress, their daughter is well on her way to recovery now, and she even has a home to go back to—thank you for saving her!

Would you like to be a part of saving more lives and houses? You can bless SO many families just by donating or giving up your birthday for Iraqi children. Donate below to start changing lives now!

Help save more children like Zahraa now!

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As Communication Director, Matt Willingham spends most of his time trying to get the word out on PLC's work in Iraq. On the side, he likes reading stories, devouring the great food his wife cooks up, and DSLR camera work. He's also mildly obsessed with Twitter: @mehtin.

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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 children in pursuit of peace between communities at odds. We offer the untold thousands of Iraqi kids 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.

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