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)

Ali Calls His Dad To Tell Him He Is Getting His Heart Fixed Tomorrow!

January 17, 2012 by Cody · Leave a Comment 

Ali’s days in the hospital got a whole lot more exciting once the doctors told him that tomorrow’s his turn to get his heart fixed!

What’s the first thing he did when he heard that? He grabbed the phone and called Dad.

Ali is just hours away from getting his heart mended—get ready!

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.

Ali’s Heroes Join Together To Save His Life

January 16, 2012 by Cody · Leave a Comment 

Did you ever get a chance to meet one of your personal heroes?

Given Ali’s dream of becoming a heart surgeon, spending all day surrounded by heart doctors was like spending an entire day hanging out with his heroes. Ali has never wanted to be a doctor as badly as he does right now! But without a heart surgery within the next few days, Ali will never be able to grow up strong enough to make that a reality.

Today, Ali was taken in for more tests so the doctors can fully understand his rare heart defect. Essentially, part of Ali’s heart never completely formed, so his heart needs to be repaired in a way that will help him grow strong enough to go back to school and get back to being a kid.

Thankfully, a heart surgery exists that can do exactly that.

I asked Ali if he’s still excited for his heart surgery and he responded even more enthusiastically “Yes – YES!” Who wouldn’t want a surgery that could put all of their dreams back within reach?

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.

We’re Already Plotting Our Way Back To Hamma

February 24, 2011 by Cody · 1 Comment 

We had to say goodbye to baby Hamma and his mother.

We didn’t want to.

We didn’t want to say goodbye because his big brown eyes and his mother’s smile drew us in from the moment we met them.

Another reason we didn’t want to say goodbye is because Hamma never received the surgery he needed to patch the hole in his heart.

He was scheduled to receive surgery but was delayed three different times.On the fourth time, the Intensive Care Unit had no more beds open for children and by the time a bed opened up, there wasn’t enough time to operate on Hamma.

Remedy was already coming to a close.

So after waiting ten days in the hospital for surgery, Hamma and his mother had to go home without a remedy.

It’s eerie to walk through the hospital ward now and see entire rooms that were packed with families, now empty and vacant because once we leave, the Remedy Mission comes to an end.

That breaks our hearts.

As long as there are children with heart disease, they should be in the hospital getting treated. In southern Iraq, it doesn’t work that way because the doctors and nurses don’t have the skills they need to take care of all the children with heart disease.

One day they will. That’s what Remedy Missions are all about.

We told Hamma’s mother that we would be back in May and that Hamma is one of the first babies that the doctors want to operate on.

So we’re standing up for Hamma!

When you order our new tank, 100% of the profit goes toward bringing Remedy back to Hamma! All we have to do is sell 59 to give Hamma his life-saving surgery and to take one step closer toward not just bringing Remedy back to southern Iraq, but to LEAVING it there!

Some tanks blow holes in stuff. This tank patches the hole in a heart. Stand up for Hamma!

Order NOW by clicking HERE!

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

Our Partners

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.

See One. Do One. Teach One. Remedy Mission Trains Iraqi Heart Doctors and Nurses for the Future of the Children and their Country

February 23, 2011 by Jeremy · Leave a Comment 

Push play above for a peek into what it means for our volunteers to be here training local Iraqi heart doctors and nurses. After you’ve viewed it, please “SHARE” below with Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon, Digg, etc.

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

Our Partners

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.

You are Bringing Laughter Back To Nasiriyah, Iraq from Thousands of Miles Away

August 23, 2010 by Cody · 1 Comment 

Photos by Heber Vega

Our first Remedy Mission has literally reached the corners of Iraq as we’ve sought to serve and save children from every part of the country. In our hospital ward there are Arab, Turkmen, and Kurdish families spending their days together talking, crying, and simply listening to one another. If a mother has to leave the room, the other mothers in the room quickly take up the responsibility to look after their child as if it were their own. Kurds, Arabs, and Turkmen have a complicated and painful history but this week it’s becoming clear to so many that all three groups have so much in common, the biggest being their love for their children.

It’s a love that’s driven each one of them to such great heights in order to find someone who could save their child.

Noor was exactly 40 days old when she became very sick. Her parents were concerned, like any parent would have been, and they took her to the doctor’s office. They took an echo and discovered she had a heart defect. They had the news confirmed by 4 other doctors in her city of Nasariyah but not one of them told her than Noor needed surgery. Noor’s mother said that the doctor’s never brought it up because they all know that finding someone who could operate on and save Noor’s life would be close to impossible.

Instead, they sent her away knowing that Noor would soon die.

Noor is now 3 months old and resting in her hospital bed after receiving the surgery that saved her life, all which the doctors in Nasiriyah thought would be “impossible.”

Noor’s mother shared with me today, “Since we first found out that Noor had a heart defect, we haven’t laughed. Now that she is better, we can laugh again.”

We love standing alongside you in bringing families together, tearing down racial divides, and restoring laughter to homes all over Iraq.

We love recognizing the fact that we have a great deal in common with families on the other side of the world and we love the fact that right now, there is a family from Nasariyah that has a reason to laugh again.

All our money comes from you! You’ve had a major hand in accomplishing a remedy for the kids of Iraq. And you can do it again today by beginning to spread the word! If you like what we are doing this week through our Remedy Mission, please be sure to spread the word: 1. Tell a friend in person 2. Email a few friends and family with a link to our blog: http://preemptivelove.org/blog 3. Use the “share” and “like” and “comment” links below to push the story out on Facebook and ask your friends to take action 4. Use the tweet box below or your favorite Twitter application to tweet about our work with this link: http://bit.ly/arBoDC

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.

Which Photo Do You Think is Cutest? We Could Not Choose.

August 21, 2010 by Jeremy · Leave a Comment 

Play time helps the long hours waiting for heart surgery go faster.

One of the things we are committed to as the Preemptive Love Coalition is our Family Services Program. We do more than fund heart surgeries; we invest our lives in the families we serve. We typically spend months with a family after identifying their child and selecting him or her for surgery. We are on the ground in Istanbul, Turkey when children arrive for heart surgery. We are Americans living in Iraq, in the hospitals with moms and dads during the long, confusing hours leading up to surgery. And we are in the homes of most of our children for six months after surgery to ensure proper followthrough, post-operative check ups, etc. Somewhere along the way, we start talking about “those kids” as “our kids.” And that’s when everything changes.

Mohammad Fwad is one of our kids. He didn’t just show up at the hospital after the TV station announced the beginning of our Remedy Mission like hundreds others we had never met. He was on our list and we have been in his home for months.

He’s one of ours… he is one of yours! He is scheduled for surgery on Sunday. Please stay tuned…!

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.

Rozha’s Smile Lights Up the Room 24 Hours After Surgery

August 18, 2010 by Jeremy · 1 Comment 

Less than 24 hours after surgery Rozha is up walking around and discharged from ICU!

http://preemptivelove.org/blog/

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.

#RemedyMission Trailer

August 15, 2010 by Jeremy · Leave a Comment 

There is no sound on this video… but you will hear the impact of your giving loud and clear by the end of next week.

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.

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.

Our First Remedy Mission Surgery & Training Program in Iraq Begins Today!

August 15, 2010 by Jeremy · Leave a Comment 

It has taken many long weeks and months to get to this point, but we are thrilled to announce the beginning of our Remedy Mission to perform (hopefully) 20-30 heart surgeries for children across Iraq this week and to train local surgeons, cardiologists, nurses, and other healthcare professionals for the future.

We could not have done this without the help of many partners, chief among which is the International Children’s Heart Foundation (ICHF). ICHF has been in the heart business for over 16 years and has provided more than 4,400 surgeries to children in developing countries. It is our hope that our partnership with ICHF will help us realize our vision to eradicate the backlog of children in Iraq waiting in line for lifesaving heart surgery. In fact, with ICHF on board, this is the first time in our three years of existence that a dream as big as that actually seems like a possibility.

We are also grateful to the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Director of Health, Dr. Rekewt, in the Sulaymaniyah province for their significant role in providing on the ground housing, food, and transportation for the ICHF team and for providing the surgical facilities and staff to be trained. Dr. Rekewt has worked closely with Kurdistan Save the Children to arrange most of the housing, food, and transportation and we are very grateful to Mr. Noaman A. Ali for the vast amount of effort he has expended to help us clear customs and secure cars, hotel rooms, food, and many other things that will make this week go smoothly. The KRG office in Washington D.C., under the leadership of Mr. Qubad Talabany, has been especially helpful in assisting with logistics and air travel. We would like to give special thanks to Zhala Sabir for her tireless work on the success of this mission this week!

We have also been inspired by Living Light, Intl. in the previous weeks as they have worked in Iraq and internationally as Iraqis to raise money and awareness of the plight of children in Iraq suffering from congenital heart defects. It is our hope that their work will allow us to continue to serve many children across Iraq with ICHF in the coming months and years.

It takes a lot of collaboration to move a pediatric cardiac program forward in a country that has never had one before. We are not alone in our work. There are many heros – locally and from around the world – that we are in awe of this week. Thanks for joining us… stay tuned for daily updates (and more)…

With you,

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.

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.

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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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