CONTACT US
CHECKOUT
 |
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! |
|||
Mohammad Coloring Pictures in His Room - Fit to Fly Home to Iraq Tomorrow Morning
November 9, 2009 by Jeremy · Leave a Comment
We told you in the amazing film of Mohammad’s surgery - made by PLC’s Joshua Gigliotti - about Mohammad’s mother’s tears and the weight of the burden that it is to entrust your only son to foreigners, in a foreign land, and to have your only access to life-saving services taking place in a foreign language. And though we told you that weight was lifted, there is still another weight that always remains: the weight of loneliness in having to bear all these life-and-death decisions without your spouse.
It’s not uncommon for other programs in the region to take children out of the country for months or more at a time. The logistics of scheduling surgeries with other hospitals and different policies about finances often cause Iraqi families themselves to be put in an even harder position in pursuit of life-saving solutions.
This is yet another reason why we are so grateful for all the amazing staff at the Anadolu Medical Center. They make scheduling, pricing, planning, and every other form of logistics so unbelievably easy that we cannot help but save more lives because of it. Because of them we are able to serve more of the riskiest of children, faster, and cheaper than many other programs in the region - and far better than we ever dreamed possible.
The upshot is that Mohammad is going home to his dad tomorrow. His mother is not going to be kept on this surgical sojourner any longer than was absolutely necessary. And Mohammad is one step closer to getting back to Iraq to go to school and beginning pursuing his big dreams!
Exactly one week after leaving his home country for surgery, Mohammad will be resting at home!
Follow 11-year-old Mohammad on Twitter: @mohammadstar. Subscribe to Mohammad updates via RSS HERE. Follow Mohammad’s thread of longer stories (with pictures & video) on the PLC blog HERE.
 |
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. |
Mohammad Resting in ICU After Successful Heart Surgery
November 9, 2009 by Jeremy · Leave a Comment
Mohammad’s surgery was a complete success! There were no surprises and Dr. Sertaç Çiçek and his team at the Anadolu Medical Center have done it again! While his mother waiting on in worry, the doctors went about steadily doing their job.
Mohammad was extubated in ICU just a few short hours after his surgery. And though we were not allowed to take pictures, Mohammad was visited in the hospital in an unofficial State visit by one of the region’s top figures who wanted to learn more about Anadolu Medical, including their work with the Preemptive Love Coalition and kids in Iraq. These sorts of things are just part of what we mean when we work for “cooperation between communities at odds.”
Mohammad is now one step closer to getting back to school in Iraq and pursuing his big dreams!
Follow 11-year-old Mohammad on Twitter: @mohammadstar. Subscribe to Mohammad updates via RSS HERE. Follow Mohammad’s thread of longer stories (with pictures & video) on the PLC blog HERE.
|
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. |
New Embed-able, Share-able, Tweetable, Facebookable Video of Life-Saving, Game-Changing Heart Surgery
November 7, 2009 by Jeremy · Leave a Comment
A PEAK BEHIND THE SCENES INTO MOHAMMAD STAR’S SURGERY from Preemptive Love on Vimeo.
When he arrived in Iraq to intern with the Preemptive Love Coalition 5 months ago, Joshua Gigliotti never imagined he would end up sitting in on a heart surgery with one of the most amazing pediatric heart surgeons in this part of the world…
When Kelly gave his extremely needed, life-saving donation last week, he may not have known that he was actually going to have a chance to see how we put his hard-earned money to work.
And when Sheikh Fakher & Sheikh Towfiq of the Qaiwan Group graciously funded Mohammad’s surgery, in fulfillment of PLC’s requirement that 50% of all life-saving surgery funds come from within Iraq’s borders, they hoped (but couldn’t be sure) that their investment would go beyond good intentions.
And even Mohammad and his mother, when they got on the plane three days ago from Iraq to Turkey, probably did not expect that they would come to feel deep gratitude and love for the administrative, nursing, and doctoral staff of the Anadolu Medical Center.
But Josh was in that surgery, creating this media production to show to Kelly, the Qaiwan group, and you, and Mohammad’s mom erupted in prayers of thanksgiving and praise to God for the Turks that live to the north of her… These Turks that her neighbors might very well call enemies, she now calls friends.
Press play above to see beyond good intentions… watch a life be changed forever!
 |
Idrees 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! | |||
|
Donate the amount of your choice to Idrees by entering it in the field below. All donations made before January 2010 will go to help the Preemptive Love Coalition send Idrees (and any others in his group) to life-saving heart surgery.
| |||
Follow 11-year-old Mohammad on Twitter: @mohammadstar. Subscribe to Mohammad updates via RSS HERE. Follow Mohammad’s thread of longer stories (with pictures & video) on the PLC blog HERE.
|
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. |
A Peak Behind the Scenes into Mohammad Star’s Surgery
November 6, 2009 by Jeremy · Leave a Comment
Photos & Editing by Joshua Gigliotti (gigliotti.joshua@gmail.com)
Copy & Paste the code below to EMBED THIS SLIDESHOW in your blog or website:
When he arrived as an intern 5 months ago Joshua Gigliotti never imagined he would end up sitting in on a heart surgery with one of the most amazing pediatric heart surgeons in this part of the world…
When Kelly gave his extremely needed, life-saving donation last week, he may not have known that he was actually going to have a chance to see how we put his hard-earned money to work.
And when Sheikh Fakher & Sheikh Towfiq of the Qaiwan Group graciously funded Mohammad’s surgery, in fulfillment of PLC’s requirement that 50% of all life-saving surgery funds come from within Iraq’s borders, they hoped (but couldn’t be sure) that their investment would go beyond good intentions.
And even Mohammad and his mother, when they got on the plane three days ago from Iraq to Turkey, probably did not expect that they would come to feel deep gratitude and love for the administrative, nursing, and doctoral staff of the Anadolu Medical Center.
But Josh was in that surgery, creating this media production to show to Kelly, the Qaiwan group, and you, and Mohammad’s mom erupted in prayers of thanksgiving and praise to God for the Turks that live to the north of her… These Turks that her neighbors might very well call enemies, she now calls friends.
Press play above to see beyond good intentions… watch a life be changed forever!
|
Idrees 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! | |||
|
|
Donate the amount of your choice to Idrees by entering it in the field below. All donations made before January 2010 will go to help the Preemptive Love Coalition send Idrees (and any others in his group) to life-saving heart surgery.
| |||
Follow 11-year-old Mohammad on Twitter: @mohammadstar. Subscribe to Mohammad updates via RSS HERE. Follow Mohammad’s thread of longer stories (with pictures & video) on the PLC blog HERE.
|
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. |
Mohammad Star Heads into Surgery… Video Montage.
November 5, 2009 by Jeremy · Leave a Comment
After the long journey from Iraq to Istanbul and a full day of tests and waiting in his room, Mohammad is on his way to surgery! Push play above to see his final waking moments before the doctors get to work changing his life forever!
Follow 11-year-old Mohammad on Twitter: @mohammadstar. Subscribe to Mohammad updates via RSS HERE. Follow Mohammad’s thread of longer stories (with pictures & video) on the PLC blog HERE.
|
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. |
The Plane, the Airport, the Bus: A Photographic Peek at Our Journey with Three Iraqi Kids
November 4, 2009 by Joshua · Leave a Comment
Vary is two years old and very scared of this new place. She is old enough to recognize doctors as doctors….and given her heart condition, has come to fear them.
This little nine year old, Mohammad, has been great. Very calm, very respectful….I even had him laughing last night as he was getting his EKG.
Honya is a very sick nine month old girl. We are so nervous for her…..she’s the riskiest girl we’re sending.
 |
Joshua Gigliotti is a PLC Summer Intern ('09) turned short-term staff who spends a majority of his time with PLC taking exceptional photos of children in Iraq in an effort to humanize Iraqis and portray them as people full of dreams and hope. When his camera is not in-hand, Josh is often found in local tea houses with friends and also enjoys traversing the great outdoors. |
Meet Mohammad (Twitter: @mohammadstar)
November 3, 2009 by Jeremy · Leave a Comment
Mohammed is the oldest of three children. He lives with his family in a small village where they live on the top floor of their barn. He has been waiting a long time for a chance to have his heart repaired. He is looking forward to walking all the way to school after he has recovered from surgery. His mom thanks us tearfully every time we see her. She cannot believe it is finally Mohammad’s turn!
Follow 11-year-old Mohammad on Twitter: @mohammadstar. Subscribe to Mohammad updates via RSS HERE. Follow Mohammad’s thread of longer stories (with pictures & video) on the PLC blog HERE.
—————–
|
|
|
||||||
|
*In accordance with PLC’s desire to lend a hand-up by avoiding strict hand-outs (when possible), Mohammad’s family has paid $3,000 towards PLC’s highly-discounted surgery prices. |
|||||||
*
|
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. |
Three More Children Selected & Waiting for Final Funding for November Surgeries
October 20, 2009 by Jeremy · 1 Comment
 |
FULLY FUNDED! Little Honya is next child from Iraq in line for life-saving heart surgery. The chambers of her heart are enlarged and she has a huge hole in a very critical place. We want to fly her to Istanbul, Turkey on November 8, 2009. | |||
 |
Danar is is your average three year old boy… except that he was recently hospitalized after turning blue while playing with his brother from a lack of oxygen in his blood. In other kids, we’ve seen this lead to brain damage. Danar has dodged that thus far. We still require roundtrip airfare ($610) for two before sending him in November. But this surgery is likely to do more than merely help Danar avoid brain damage… we can actually set Danar free to live! | |||
 |
FULLY FUNDED! Mohammad Star is a great candidate for surgery! He will be one of the lowest risk cases in our November group and is the most likely to benefit from the positive impact of his surgery. Thanks to the generous donation of the Qaiwan Group in Iraq, Mohammad’s surgery has been fully funded in conjunction with our Local Solutions fundraising program. | |||
|
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. |
REAL-TIME UPDATES ON MOHAMMAD:
