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?"


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 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)

You Just Helped More Kids in 12 Days Than Any 12 Month Period in Our History… for Less!

September 13, 2010 by Jeremy · Leave a Comment 

Deeya is alive and doing well at home today because of the surgery you provided for her in Iraq!

Wow! What a phenomenal trip it has been these last few weeks as you have brought a new remedy to the children of Iraq through the surgical and nursing team of Dr. William Novick. It’s high time we update your impact to help Iraqis make a better future for themselves and their children.

The total expense for our first Remedy Mission was approximately $90,000. This amount was further subsidized by the Director of Health in our city and the Kurdish Regional Government in Washington D.C., and the International Children’s Heart Foundation. The balance was underwritten by you!

This family was not yet chosen for surgery… they are still waiting for our next Remedy Mission.

Locally, Remedy Mission was a great success. We ended the week at dinner with the governor and the health director where they invited us to start our next Remedy Mission as quickly as possible. When we suggested May 2010 as a next date, all the surgeons and the health director rallied together to urge us to begin again in February instead.

Our current proposal is a five year plan comprising four trips per year to make the Sulaymaniyah Cardiac Center a premier facility in the region that is able to perform 12-14 surgeries per week without foreign assistance. We estimate that this will cost $1.5m and we are currently talking with the local authorities in hopes that they will choose to shoulder the majority of that expense.

During Remedy Mission ICHF and local surgeons performed 25 corrective cardiac procedures. Put differently, we helped more kids in 12 days than we have in any 12 month period to date… at a massive savings compared to our work in Iraq… with hands-on training for Iraqi doctors and nurses! A typical all-inclusive surgery in Istanbul costs us $10,000 (after subsidies). That expense is usually shared among the family of the child, local and international donors. The typical PLC international donor portion of a surgery in Turkey is $3-5k.

Cody Fisher reviews the list of kids who received surgery and kids still in line for February 2011.

The numbers for Remedy Mission look much different. Not only are we able to work in partnership with others more during Remedy Missions, but every surgery represents a local development and training opportunity. The all-inclusive price for all partners was approximately $3,600 per child (compared to $10k in Istanbul and much more in the States or Europe).

Remedy Mission has taught us a lot about being fiscally and developmentally responsible. Therefore, in an effort to redouble our commitment to long-term local solutions, we will be increasing our Remedy Mission funding in hopes of facilitating four Remedy Missions in our current city in 2011.

The following families are still waiting in line for our help…. Will you be the remedy? Donate the amount of your choice below to get our next Remedy Mission off to a strong start!

With you,

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. If you’re on Twitter this week be sure to use the #Remedy or #RemedyMission hashtag to describe all the good news coming out of Iraq this week via @preemptivelove and @babyheart_org. If you’re on Facebook, “Share” this story with the button below.

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: @Jeremy_Courtney.

Remedy Mission Ushers in Wave of Voluntarism, Lays Groundwork for Future Initiatives in Iraq

August 31, 2010 by Jeremy · Leave a Comment 

Amed Omar has volunteered for us for more than two years. Amed invested heavily each day into the kids, showed an eagerness to use his knowledge of English and local languages to help in the training of local nurses in the Intensive Care Unit. | Photos by Heber Vega

As our first Remedy Mission has played out in Iraq over the last two weeks, we have been extremely encouraged by the number of people coming out, emailing, and calling in hopes of giving what they can as volunteers to assist in the effort. For years, a lack of voluntarism and a sense of entitlement among many throughout Iraq has caused us great concern for the future of crowd-sourced charitable organizations like ours. In Iraq many sit back and wait for the government to do it all. Too few go the extra mile of engaging the process, flexing their creativity, and creating the change that they ostensibly want to see.

But that is decidedly not how it was this week with Remedy Mission. We had 17 volunteers come out at some time or another to see the children, play with them, donate time, goods, and money, translate, function in administrative roles, write, advocate, promote, and – perhaps most importantly – become personally invested in the long-term drama of creating a long-term local solution for children in Iraq waiting in line for lifesaving heart surgery. In addition to the 17 who actually came and volunteered, we had another six on a waiting list that we simply could not absorb. We had to turn local Arab and Kurdish volunteers away!

Shahad Mohammad was a first-time volunteer with us this Remedy Mission after making friends with some of our summer interns. Shahad persisted in seeking volunteer opportunities, played with the kids, translated into Arabic, and involved others in her community in our work.

As we look to the future of charitable and social services in Iraq, we are encouraged by the diversity of youth and adults, ethnicities, and socio-economic backgrounds that comprised our volunteer group these last two weeks for our Remedy Mission. If we can continue to generate this degree of local support and leverage the good intentions and much-needed hands and feet of the people of Iraq, the kids of Iraq (where we live at least) are going to be fine under the care of their local volunteers, government and healthcare professionals.

With you,

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. If you’re on Twitter this week be sure to use the #Remedy or #RemedyMission hashtag to describe all the good news coming out of Iraq this week via @preemptivelove and @babyheart_org. If you’re on Facebook, “Share” this story with the button below.

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: @Jeremy_Courtney.

Abdulkareem is Sent Home to Diyala with a Healthy, Happy Heart and a Grateful Family

August 28, 2010 by Jeremy · Leave a Comment 

Abdulkareem spent the last few days out of ICU recovering with his mother in the main ward. This little boy who captured our attention sometime in the Spring, is now a healthy little boy!

Abdulkareem was discharged to return home to Diyala with his mom, dad, and his big brother, Abbas. Abdulkareem’s father sent me a message from the road on his way home after this photo was taken. The message said something like, “Thank you so much for your organization and for helping my little boy. We will not forget you.“

If he had more time, I think he would have thanked you each by name with tears running down his face. You made this a reality for Abdulkareem. You made a father and a mother’s dream come true. And you prevented a big brother from growing up without a soccer-buddy.

As I write this, I’m full of tears at your kindness and generosity. I cannot even imagine what order of gratitude Abdulkareem’s family must feel toward you.

WIth You,

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. If you’re on Twitter this week be sure to use the #Remedy or #RemedyMission hashtag to describe all the good news coming out of Iraq this week via @preemptivelove and @babyheart_org. If you’re on Facebook, “Share” this story with the button below.

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: @Jeremy_Courtney.

Baby Noor Continues Healing Post Surgery; Fluid Around Chest Only Concern

August 27, 2010 by Jeremy · 6 Comments 

Photos by Heber Vega

[ ABOVE ] Baby Noor arrives in the Intensive Care Unit all smiles for her morning check-up. Dr. Sri Rao and Kathryn Frazier, RN from the International Children’s Heart Foundation care for her tenderly and take in her joy as our time together in Iraq draws near an end. Noor doesn’t yet know that the procedure to come is going to replace her smiles with tears…

[ ABOVE ] But the tears come loud and the screams come fast as the ICHF and local doctors and nurses begin working together to drain the fluid from inside her chest cavity. Nonetheless, that scream is a sign of a kid with a healthier heart than when she arrived!

[ ABOVE ] ICHF Intensivist Marc Anders administers positive pressure ventilation to Baby Noor during the procedure. The Intensive Care Unit is the area of greatest concern for children in the local hospital. While surgeons and cardiologists locally continue to improve in their training at encouraging rates, local nurses are thrown into the mix without proper training, tools, or respect. The ICHF team feels a strong desire to increase the level of respect, knowledge, and engagement among local staff in the Unit.

[ ABOVE ] Mom waits downstairs in the ward for news as to how Noor is progressing and an estimate as to when they might be allowed to return to their home in the southern most part of Iraq near Basra.

[ ABOVE ] After all is said and done, Baby Noor rests in the Unit with her baby seal, fluids, and a bit of sedation. The procedure goes well, prevents infection, and hastens the day when Baby Noor, her mom, and her dad return home… hopefully in time for the Eid al-Fitr holiday at the end of Ramadan in few days.

WIth You,

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. If you’re on Twitter this week be sure to use the #Remedy or #RemedyMission hashtag to describe all the good news coming out of Iraq this week via @preemptivelove and @babyheart_org. If you’re on Facebook, “Share” this story with the button below.

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: @Jeremy_Courtney.

Abdulkareem Gets His Surgery After Months of Appeals from His Loving Father

August 26, 2010 by Jeremy · Leave a Comment 

Photos by Heber Vega; Lydia Bullock

It was around lunch time in the heat of June in Iraq when Abdulkareem’s father came into my office. He told me that his son was very sick, that he was very poor, and that he needed our help and was willing to do whatever he could to make it happen. We were preparing our July group for surgery in Turkey and one of the children had just withdrawn from the group. It looked like we might be able to squeeze Abdulkareem in at the last minute if all the right pieces fell into place quickly.

Abdulkareem’s father worked especially hard for his little boy. He traveled from his home in Diyala to Baghdad to get passports fro the family. He came to the office and called regularly to see what our status was with regards to funding for his son’s place on the Turkey surgery list.

There are two days in the duration of my journey with this family that I am unlikely to forget. The first was the day that Abdulkareem’s father – Hafez Bey – looked into my eyes and, with all the passion of a protective but powerless father, said, “Just help my little boy; just do something to save my little boy.“

Unfortunately, it did not work out to take Abdulkareem to Turkey with us for various reasons and we began the race against the clock to provide Abdulkareem surgery before his condition deteriorated any further. Our as-of-yet untested next option was our first Remedy Mission in August 2010. We gave Abdulkareem a priority spot on the Remedy Mission list.

The day our surgical team arrived Hafez Bey must have seen us on the news because he called me 10 times: “Is my boy going to surgery? Mr Jeremy, just do something to help my little boy!”

Photo by Heber Vega

There is one other day in the life of this family that I won’t forget – the day Abdulkareem had surgery earlier this week. I remember it so distinctly because after the surgery Hafez Bey grabbed me and kissed me and gave me an emotional “thank you” for making good on our commitment to his family.

One of the things we always try to explain to families is the presence of hundreds of people in the States and Europe – people like you – who work together to make every surgery possible. Of course, parents appreciate the ability to personalize their gratitude, but we talk about you frequently because we could not have saved Abdulkareem’s life without your many gifts to our Remedy Mission.

If you like what you’ve been able to be a part of this week with us (and there seem to be hundreds of you viewing the website and videos each day), please take two minutes to give toward the next Remedy Mission, the next Abdulkareem, and to the next father who is eagerly waiting for someone to help his little child. Please donate any amount of your choice below.

WIth You,

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. If you’re on Twitter this week be sure to use the #Remedy or #RemedyMission hashtag to describe all the good news coming out of Iraq this week via @preemptivelove and @babyheart_org. If you’re on Facebook, “Share” this story with the button below.

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: @Jeremy_Courtney.

Ahmed Leaves the Hospital; On His Way Home with a Healthy, Happy Heart Thanks to You!

August 25, 2010 by Cody · Leave a Comment 

This morning as I walked into the hospital I almost ran right into Ahmed. He was walking around the hospital ward all by himself; something he wasn’t able to do just a few days ago!

The doctors took one last echo of Ahmed’s heart and found nothing but good news so they let him and his uncle head back home to Nasiriyah.

We miss Ahmed and the several others that have already gone home but it’s an exciting feeling to walk through the hospital and see empty beds that once held sick kids.

They are empty, thanks to you!

As with all the surgeries we facilitate, this is only the beginning of our journey with each one of these children. We stay connected with each family and continue to follow through with each child to make sure they’re continuing to progress in every way. We’ll stop by their homes, go visit them at school and continue to invest in them and their local communities.

The surgery is only the beginning of our work.

We couldn’t be doing any of this if it weren’t for YOU.

Thank you for giving and sacrificing so that others can live. We love standing alongside you.

WIth You,

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. If you’re on Twitter this week be sure to use the #Remedy or #RemedyMission hashtag to describe all the good news coming out of Iraq this week 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.

Take a Look Around our Operating Room with this Interactive Panorama

August 25, 2010 by Jeremy · 1 Comment 

USE ARROWS OR MOUSE ABOVE TO CHANGE THE VIEW OF THE PANORAMA
Photos & Panorama Created by Jon Vidar

It has always been a desire of ours to show you the impact of your donations, your purchases, your advocacy, and your sharing on Twitter, Facebook, etc.

We’ve also wanted to find ways to make this work together with you as interactive as possible. That’s why we send out frequent emails asking for your feedback; it’s why we create interactive timelines that allow you to walk through the various channels we use to tell a child’s story; and it’s why we offered live telephone updates from Iraq during Remedy Mission to anyone interested.

Of course, what we would love to do is bring each one of you into the surgery you helped fund… but unfortunately, that’s just not feasible! We try to make up for it with our photography, cinematography, and storytelling, but there is obviously nothing like being there.

So please accept this interactive space as our next best effort to bring you into the room with us. When you use the arrows on your keyboard or your mouse above to click around you will be able to see a full 360-degree view of the new operating theatre here in Iraq that has been used during this Remedy Mission to train local doctors and save little lives.

And if you like the experience above, please tell your friends by using the “SHARE” utility/button below!

With you,

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. If you’re on Twitter this week be sure to use the #Remedy or #RemedyMission hashtag to describe all the good news coming out of Iraq this week via @preemptivelove and @babyheart_org. If you’re on Facebook, “Share” this story with the button below.

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: @Jeremy_Courtney.

Ahmed is Doing Great, Out of ICU and One Day Closer To Seeing His Parents

August 24, 2010 by Cody · Leave a Comment 

Ahmed is now one day closer to seeing his parents. His days of fighting against a completely broken heart are over! What’s ahead of him? Everything! His family, his home, his friends, his school, soccer and anything else any normal four year old with a strong heart would look forward to.

Today, I’m pretty sure I caught Ahmed daydreaming about all of those things as he just spent time relaxing before heading home sometime this week.

I remember meeting Ahmed just last week, with his knees to his chest because that was the only position in which he could breath properly. Now he’s sprawled out on his bed with candy wrappers all around him.

We are looking forward to our last few days with Ahmed and his uncle. Will we miss them? Of course! But we can’t wait for his parents to see him with a healthy, happy heart thanks to you!

With you,

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. If you’re on Twitter this week be sure to use the #Remedy or #RemedyMission hashtag to describe all the good news coming out of Iraq this week 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.

Mohammad Fwad Hits Rock Bottom & Begins the Long Climb Out

August 24, 2010 by Jeremy · Leave a Comment 

Photos by Heber Vega

I’m having a hard time today. Not that this blog is about me; or even the Preemptive Love Coalition. This blog exists to shine a light on the children and the families. Still, I’m having a hard day.

The reason I’m having a hard day is really tied to the fact that Mohammad Fwad is having a hard day. On a normal day we are able to write about these amazing children and their amazing journeys from heart break to wholeness. On a normal day we focus on smiles and avoid anything that smacks of manipulation. A normal surgery group for us comprises 3-5 kids rather than 30 children. And on a normal day kids go through surgery without incident and their stories are very predictable.

Unfortunately, today is not a normal day.

Today Mohammad Fwad – a little two year old that I first met 5 months ago – is not doing as well as we hoped. The low pressures in his heart this morning prompted the team in the Intensive Care Unit to re-open his chest in order to ensure that he was not septic and that no other complications had arisen.

Thankfully, Mohammad is doing much better now. But I’m not a doctor and I don’t really understand that. I just saw a little two year old laid bare on the table with signs all around that read “OPEN CHEST.” One of the nurses in ICU, Micah, explained to me how they purposefully “paralyzed” him. That doesn’t do anything good for my emotions!

And then I had to bring Mohammad’s dad in… because he asked! And I just couldn’t keep him away. I was terrified to let him see his child that way. But I know how I would feel if I was locked out from my only child…

Well, I think I know how I would feel.

And actually, Mohammad is not the only child as of yesterday. His mother gave birth to a healthy baby boy yesterday (though his heart has not been echoed yet for heart defects). And the presence of that little brother has changed so much in my mind. How terrible it would be to have your big brother die on the day you were born? How amazing it would be to have your big brother’s life saved on the day your life in this world began! Either way, this new little boy changes things!

As Mohammad’s dad stood by, I stood back. It wasn’t because I didn’t feel welcome at his side. It was simply because I didn’t want my tears and my emotions to send him in to an emotional tailspin. But, of course, I forgot: I’m in Iraq. His dad was a rock, at least on the outside. There I am crying about somebody else’s boy and he’s all greetings and gratitude.

After less than a minute, his father left the Unit and I went back to my make-shift office to bawl.

As I write, the dear nurse at Mohammad’s side, Amy, says that Mohammad is going to be OK – “As long as I’m working, this child is NOT dying.” But, of course, Amy and I both know that it’s never that simple.

If only it were.

With you,

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. If you’re on Twitter this week be sure to use the #Remedy or #RemedyMission hashtag to describe all the good news coming out of Iraq this week via @preemptivelove and @babyheart_org. If you’re on Facebook, “Share” this story with the button below.

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: @Jeremy_Courtney.

Mohammad Fwad had his Surgery After Months of Waiting; Resting in ICU as Mom Gives Birth to New Baby Boy

August 23, 2010 by Cody · 3 Comments 

A local surgeon – Dr. Amanj – assists in surgery in Iraq this week on cases he has been longing to learn about from Dr. William Novick of the International Children’s Heart Foundation

The wait is over, Mohammad received his surgery! His surgery was not entirely without “incident” as he bled for a little bit after surgery while local hospital staff scrambled to find the appropriate blood products to help stop his bleeding.

A depleted blood bank during the month of Ramadan – when there is a decreased likelihood that people would volunteer to give blood during the daylight, fasting hours – has been only one of our confounding complications this week. But working through these glitches are exactly what the International Children’s Heart Foundation team specializes in. Their final audit and advice report will be a great resource for local healthcare and government officials as they seek to develop their local solutions to these local problems.

In addition to news of Mohammad’s heart surgery today, the family was also able to celebrate the birth of Mohammad’s new-born little brother! While Mohammad was being prepped for surgery, his mother was literally being rushed to a hospital across the street to give birth to a little boy!

Right now, Mohammad’s mother is holding her new born baby and in just a few more hours she’ll be holding Mohammad with a newly mended heart thanks to you!

We love this story!

With you,

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. If you’re on Twitter this week be sure to use the #Remedy or #RemedyMission hashtag to describe all the good news coming out of Iraq this week 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.

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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.

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