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!

A Visitor’s Perspective of Holistic Care

October 28, 2009 by matt · Leave a Comment

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“The whole is more than the sum of its parts.”

-Aristotle

That’s a brilliant dead guy’s way of saying – there’s more to you than just what you’re made of! And, after two weeks of shadowing PLC family advocates, I’m thoroughly convinced that they hold to this maxim in their care of Iraqi children.

Because a child is so much more than a collection of organs and bones – or a diseased heart.

Serious energy, thought, and discussion is put into the pursuit of holistic care, and I’ve seen how much it costs them to go this extra mile. In reality, these surgeries could be mostly facilitated from a comfortable distance with a mocha and a fast computer, but the PLC staff has moved far from friends and family to provide much more than a well-funded medical procedure. They offer heart surgeries that allow for a better, longer life.

But, if you’re like me, you read ‘holistic’ and you’re a little skeptical. It’s an easy word to toss around, but actual application is a much more slippery story. And who can say what is or isn’t a ‘whole’ child? That’s why PLC freely admits that holistic care is an ongoing process. They know they haven’t arrived, but they also know that a 4 hour heart surgery is just one of the many needs an average Iraqi child faces, and they aim to meet them at any cost.

And the results of these lofty endeavors are beautiful. They allow Iraqis to see Americans in a different light, they create good will among local ethnic rivals, they help Muslims reconsider what they’ve been told about Christians, and they show whole families that they matter and God cares for them.

Adhering to this process of holistic care may seem like an inconceivable goal to some, but the bi-product is a peace that most Westerners assume and most Iraqis can’t even fathom.

Matt Willingham came to Iraq in October 2009 as a supporter and friend of the Preemptive Love Coalition because he wanted to see first hand what the work was all about. When not vacationing in lovely countries like Iraq, Matt and his wife, Cayla, live in Thailand where they live under the patronage of the Royal Princess.... and yes, it really is as cool as it sounds!

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5 WAYS TO SAVE A LIFE THIS OCTOBER!

October 21, 2009 by Cody · Leave a Comment

Pumpkin!

5 WAYS TO SAVE A LIFE THIS OCTOBER!

1. Stuff home-made flyers about the Preemptive Love Coalition in your Halloween costume and drop them off at each house as you go trick-or-treatin’!

2. Throw a Halloween party and ask your friends to bring money to donate to Honya and Danar’s heart surgery this November!

3. Instead of buying a candy bar for a dollar - tell each trick-or-treater that you’re donating a dollar to the Preemptive Love Coalition for each trick-or-treater that shows up to your door! (extra points for taking a picture of the reaction on their face when you tell them that)

4. Sell your candy to your little brother or sister and use that money to put Honya and Danar on a plane to receive life saving heart surgery!

5. Enter an amount below to save a life right NOW!

	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. But before she can go, we need to cover the cost of airfare for her and her mother ($405). Donation:
	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 ($822) 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! Donation:

Cody Fisher is a co-founder and U.S. Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. Cody is married to the marvelous Michelle Fisher and they currently live in Southern California. Cody is a lover of people, good music, photography, and anything that makes him laugh.

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Four More Children to Travel to Surgery

July 20, 2009 by Jessica · Leave a Comment

asm Tuesday afternoon PLC staff will travel with four children to the Anadolu Sağlık Merkezi in Istanbul, Turkey where they hope to receive life-saving heart surgery at the hands of Dr. Sertaç Çiçek. We are excited to introduce them to you one by one throughout the day today here on the PLC blog. We are in the final process of waiting for cooperative funding and passports before boarding the plane in a little over 24 hours. More pictures and stories to come…

Jessica Courtney lives and loves in Iraq as a co-founder and Family Services Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. She is also a mother of two children and is married to PLC's Executive Director, Jeremy Courtney. When not absorbed in caring for Iraqi children and sharing life with Iraqi families, she enjoys sewing and scrapbooking.

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Rezhin Doing Great Post Surgery & Growing Up Fast After So Much Childhood Lost

July 8, 2009 by Abby · Leave a Comment

Last Thursday PLC Family Advocates and a few summer interns went to visit Rezhin, a tiny and precious 12-year-old girl who received heart surgery in early 2009. As we watched a slideshow of her stay at the hospital, we were able to see the bond she formed with the PLC staff and the other kids who were there during that time. Now that school is out for the summer, she doesn’t have anything planned besides enjoying the break from school!

She is doing so well physically now (which is exciting!), but we can’t help but grieve the years of childhood that she missed out on while waiting for surgery…especially since she is now caught in the awkward age between being a kid and wanting to “grow up”. At one time during our visit, she pointed out a bracelet on her wrist that she got during her time away with a smile. This reminds us not to dwell on the past but to be thankful for the ways she has been healed and hope for the new way that she can live. We greatly enjoyed being in their home and the summer interns are particularly excited to see her again this summer before heading back home.

Rezhin represents another of the many Iraqi children who are not getting their surgeries in a timely manner. Granted, her condition had not deteriorated to the point of inoperability when she received her surgery, but she had already missed out on all of her childhood years, sick and playing it safe by the rules established for her by an easily corrected heart defect.

To help future kids like Rezhin get well and keep their childhood, please consider donating to the Shad Faraydoon Memorial Fund for Infant Surgeries by clicking here.

Abby Bertrand is the Hospitality Coordinator for the Preemptive Love Coalition in Istanbul, Turkey. She is married to PLC's Turkey Director, Scott Bertrand. When not showing hospitality to Iraqi families on during their surgical sojourns, she's still most likely to be found showing hospitality to someone else through her delicious home-cooking or many manners of gift giving and kindness.

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Iraq: The Forgotten Story Unveiled in England

May 23, 2009 by Jeremy · Comments Off

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Shortly after we began our work in 2007, under the direction of PLC co-founder Cody Fisher, the Preemptive Love Coalition set out to use original Iraqi art as a means of fulfilling our three-fold mission of (1) funding life-saving heart surgeries for Iraqi kids; (2) increasing cooperation between communities at odds; (3) and investing foreign revenue into local Iraqi economies.

On May 22, 2009, the Preemptive Love Coalition unveiled IRAQ - THE FORGOTTEN STORY at our inaugural event outside London, England. The Forgotten Story features the work of 6 Iraqi artists and tells the story of life in Iraq under Saddam Hussein’s Ba’ath Regime through their eyes.

But this is not a backward looking collection. The purpose of pulling together these stories and touring them around the world is to look forward together, for the future of Iraq.

For more information on the current event in Luton, England and for inquiries about future events, please visit our partners, A Thin Place, at www.AThinPlace.org.

SAMPLES OF FINE & PHOTOGRAPHIC ART

PHOTOS FROM THE OPENING EVENT

PARTNERS & SPONSORS

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.

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Preemptive Love Coalition in ODE MAGAZINE

May 5, 2009 by Jeremy · Leave a Comment

Thanks to all of the kind editorial and web staff over at ODE Magazine for your wonderful work in keeping the world both intelligent and optimistic.

Click here to read Marco Visscher’s “ode” to the work of the Preemptive Love Coalition.

And PLC’s executive director - Jeremy Courtney - is writing online for ODE Magazine right now on some of the history and cultural elements in Iraq that have precipitated the need for what we call “preemptive love.” Check out some of Courtney’s recent postings here.

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NFL’s Likely Top Draft Pick Speaks for PLC

April 23, 2009 by Cody · Leave a Comment

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“Iraq – A New Face” at the Green House Gallery

April 16, 2009 by Scott · Leave a Comment

Some of our good friends, Ian (of Wales) and Ben (of England), are helping PLC to launch our global tour of the works of ten Iraqi artists (painters and photographers). They came to visit in February to help make sure that all of the art would be selected and handled professionally.

The Luton Duo shot quite a bit of their own arresting photography while they were here and they’ve currently got it on exhibit as “Iraq – A New Face” at Luton’s Green House Gallery through May 17th.

For more information on this installation, grab this flyer or visit A Thin Place international artists collective.

Scott Bertrand is the Turkey Director for the Preemptive Love Coalition and gives strategic and logistical oversight to all of our operations in Istanbul, Turkey. When not fully-employed in PLC operations, Scott can usually be found buried in a book or enjoying a good card game with friends. Scott is married to PLC's Hospitality Coordinator, Abby Bertrand.

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Happy Easter from the Preemptive Love Coalition!

April 12, 2009 by Scott · Leave a Comment

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A Total Repair for Bruska

March 17, 2009 by Ruth · Leave a Comment

Little Bruska successfully has a full heart repair yesterday. She was the child that we tried to raise money for around Christmas. Sounds like she doing well after her surgery.

When the surgeon did his final check before surgery he said that he was optimistic about Bruska’s surgery being successful since she was able to stabilize after yesterday’s severe cyanotic spell. He added he had never seen a child’s oxygen level drop that low before and the child survive.

Around 1 pm the doctors from Bruska’s surgical team began to appear. Each of them said the surgery was finishing and had gone well, but were not ready to elaborate. When the surgeon came to us, he shared that Bruska had a good surgery with no events during the operation, and it was a total repair. He was full of encouragement that she would be incredibly better than she had been in the previous days, although mentioned again that she had arrived with neurological damage before surgery.

Ruth Simpson is a Family Advocate for the Preemptive Love Coalition in Iraq and a certified physio-therapist. Ruth also hails from Ireland, though she's slowly losing her amazing accent amongst all the Americans. When not sharing her life with PLC's kids in Iraq, she's most often serving some other constituent group with her rehabilitative skills and compassion.

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