LIFESAVING HEART SURGERIES FOR IRAQI KIDS IN PURSUIT OF PEACE BETWEEN PEOPLE AT ODDS.
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Backed Into a Corner: Doctors Adapting to Hardships in Iraq
June 30, 2010 by Preston · Leave a Comment
As a doctor, decisions that affect a person’s quality of life come with the job, and this is no different for our local cardiologist, Dr. Aso Faeq. While shadowing Dr. Aso in his office earlier this week, I witnessed how the problems in Iraq make these decisions even more difficult.
As I saw patient after patient visit Dr. Aso’s office last Wednesday, the fact that congenital heart disease is a rampant problem here in northern Iraq became blatantly obvious. Families drove for hours just to see this one cardiologist examine their child, and so many of them were told about the urgency of their child’s heart condition.
Though so many cases are urgent, Dr. Aso is restricted from the limited options he has available to him in Iraq. The lack of training and technology for doctors along with poverty and cultural dilemmas prevent many children from receiving surgery in the country. It’s hardships like these that affect Dr. Aso’s decision making every day.
One of his decisions that resonated with me concerned the fate of a three-month-old boy. His parents brought him to the office knowing he had a heart problem, but they needed Dr. Aso to examine and diagnose him. After a few seconds of doing the echocardiogram (an ultrasound of the heart), Dr. Aso’s whole demeanor changed instantly.
He explained to us that two of the little boy’s heart chambers were malformed and merged into a single chamber causing immense pressure to build in his heart. As the family and Dr. Aso discussed their options, the limitations became obvious. The surgery the child needs could be done in a town six hours away, but the family did not have the money to do this. On top of this, the next group of American non-profit surgeons who will perform local surgeries here does not arrive for another fifty days, which could be too late for the dying boy.
For a solid 10 minutes Dr. Aso did not say a word. He sat there, weighing the child’s options and deciding his fate. Imagine the immensity of this decision. Dr. Aso has basically been backed into a corner and told to make a decision on this child’s life. And so, he did. Waiting is the only option. He spoke to the parents, comforted them, signed the papers, and watched as the next patient walked in.
Dr. Aso often finds himself faced with difficult decisions, but with the options available to him he takes the initiative to make the best call for these children. These families are, in fact, some of the strongest people I have ever witnessed. They face impending tragedy while dealing with poverty and neglect. Sitting in Dr. Aso’s office, however, allowed me to see that real initiative can cause real change in the face of immense hardship.
People like Dr. Aso take this initiative as far as they can, and PLC hopes to offer opportunities for this initiative to be extended across the world. Whether it be through buying Klash from our Buy Shoes. Save Lives. program, supporting local healthcare through Remedy Mission, or creatively partnering with PLC to find new ways of providing these heart surgeries, you can also take the initiative to make a difference in childrens’ lives.
Revisiting Nivar Helped PLC Family Advocate Refocus on PLC Goals
June 27, 2010 by Sophia · Leave a Comment
It is often difficult to measure the level of success of our work here in Iraq. Working with kids and families, donors and budgets is all sometimes daunting.
On a recent visit to see 9 year-old Nivar, I was reminded of how precious life of an Iraqi child with a heart disease is. With little energy to play outside and unable to run around with her younger brothers, Nivar spends her days watching TV and lying down in her family’s home. Her condition is significant and according to her father, she often feels tired and bored now that school is out for the summer.
Nivar is one of the sweetest girls I have had the privilege of meeting here in Iraq. Big green eyes and a smile that captures your heart, she is the epitome of why we here at PLC work to send children to surgery.
We work to see kids outside playing once again. We work to stop sick days and sad childhoods. We work to see smiles and healthy pink cheeks instead of blue ones that show a lack of oxygen.
We work because we love, and we hope that love can be shared with everyone who donates to a child.
I can’t help but think that if we can help save at least one little girl like Nivar, our job will be a success.
A PLC Intern’s Thoughts on Brain and Feet Soup and New Cultural Experiences
June 16, 2010 by Preston · Leave a Comment
Experiencing Iraqi culture in a variety of ways is one of the great parts of being a PLC intern. The tasks we take on allow us to build meaningful relationships with new friends as we work. So far, a few of us interns have been a part of this relationship building through working with our new friend Aram. Aram is a local Klash maker who uses his unique gift to help PLC provide much-needed heart surgeries for children right here in his home country. For the last few weeks, the interns have been working with Aram on new ideas for Klash. Day after day, at least two of us have been frequenting his shop, speaking in broken language, trying to communicate new ideas, and in doing so, slowly building a great relationship while experiencing a new and exciting culture!
This culture is one of great hospitality. Every time we step foot in his shop, Aram is quick to offer water and tea. Often times we try to pay for the drinks he gives us, but the gesture is always denied. Many people here have a joy about them as they serve their guest. Even after three weeks of our visits, Aram never fails to extend his hospitality. On one of our latest visits, we partook in a rather unusual adventure of the culinary type.
While sitting in Aram’s shop during lunch time the other day, he asked if we would like some sêrûpê. This dish that I’ve only heard tale of, has often times made our Iraqi friends laugh by even just mentioning the name. The food that was brought to us was a green-yellow, brothy mixture containing sheep brain, foot, tongue, and mid-region. I know the thought is quiet unappetizing, but after timidly tasting the first bite, we understood that the Iraqi people know what’s going on when it comes to food. They can even make sheep brain and feet taste delicious. Served with a tortilla-type bread called naan, the meal could not have been more delicious.
Along with experiencing the culture through food, we’ve also experienced a type of relationship building that can only be formed by sitting in a Klash shop in the middle of Iraq while sipping hot tea. After sitting around a bit and talking about our new Klash ideas, the conversation can quickly drift to dugolie (the Kurdish word for “soccer” or “futbol”), especially focusing on the World Cup and the many reasons why Aram thinks Germany will win it all. We talk about the trade, argue about sports, and work on Klash together. Spending time in Aram’s shop has been one of the best ways of experiencing the culture so far.
Super Bowl Winner Malcolm Jenkins Speaks Up (A Few Months Ago!) For Iraqi Kids
February 10, 2010 by Jeremy · Leave a Comment
Our congratulations to the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts for a great game and a hard season. Special congratulations, however, go to cornerback Malcolm Jenkins for using his platform as an athlete to speak up on behalf of those whose voice is scarcely heard or heeded. Malcolm - along with many others who never won the Super Bowl - is like a megaphone for the kids of Iraq…
What about you? What are you up to for the kids of Iraq? If you’re a college student or post-college student, might we suggest our Summer Internship? There are still a few weeks left to apply!
Let us hear from you!
Banquet & Carnival in Iraq Celebrates Hope & A Future for Twenty of Our PLC Alumni Kids
August 20, 2009 by Jeremy · 1 Comment
Eight year old Ahmad was on the brink of death when we met him. Now he’s rambunctious and carries his little sister all around the place!
Turkey Director, Scott Bertrand, with Hospitality Coordinator, Abby Bertrand, and Rezhin’s family.
Physical Therapist and Family Advocate, Ruth Simpson, at the banquet.
Executive Director, Jeremy Courtney, with Roman and his father amidst the fun and games.
PLC 2009 Summer Intern, Joshua Gigliotti, and Mohammed
Dear Preemptive Lovers,
In the midst of our most recent series of life-saving surgeries being conducted in Istanbul, Turkey for Iraqi kids we wanted to pause on the drama and reflect for a moment on what you’ve helped us do in the past year together. To date you’ve helped us give 44 children the surgeries they so seriously needed and we’ve raised/given away over $250,000.
In celebration of this we hosted our second annual PLC Alumni Kids Banquet on July 17, 2009 in Iraq for all of the children we’ve served between August 2008 and June 2009. We had over twenty families in attendance, a small team of volunteers from a church in Texas that helped fund the banquet, and 8 summer interns from all over the U.S. We also had special guests from the local community, including renowned artists, political players, and medical professionals.
But the stars were, of course, the children themselves. What a joy it was to see little boys with brand new soccer balls - a gift that would have previously been something of a cruel joke for most of these boys. The girls came decked out in the party attire and the children were showered with thousands of dollars in gifts from supporters in the States.
It’s been a great year (we just missed announcing our second organizational birthday amidst the flurry of activity) and it’s hard to believe that we’re able to live out this dream. And we wouldn’t be able to without you… So here’s to you and the kids you’ve helped. It’s a joy to be a facilitator of your love and kindness in the world.
For Hope & Future,
Jeremy Courtney
Executive Director
Two Great Pictures of Mohammed’s Surgery by 20-year-old PLC Summer Intern
July 24, 2009 by Jeremy · Leave a Comment
A few pictures from the middle of Mohammed’s surgery with Dr. Sertaç Çiçek and Dr. Ahmed Arsalan taken by one of PLC’s summer interns, Benjamin Landis.
Follow 11-year-old Mohammed on Twitter: @mohammedgaelan. Subscribe to Mohammed’s updates via RSS here. Follow Mohammed’s thread of longer stories (with pictures) on the PLC blog here.
Preemptive Love Coalition Summer Internship 2009
July 20, 2009 by Jeremy · Leave a Comment
This post has been a long-time coming… We are excited to introduce you to the PLC Internship class of 2009!
This year’s interns have been phenomenal and have brought a lot of thoughtfulness and passion to work each day. They’ve put in long hours and gone the extra-mile in nearly every way imaginable. To hear them talk about the ways in which their previously held perceptions of Iraq, Islam, Kurds, Arabs, etc have changed has all been very refreshing. But more than changing the way they think about others, it seems this summer has helped us all change the way we think about ourselves.
PLC is extremely grateful to Ben, Josh, Jeremy, Nathan, Christin, Audrey, Ashley, and Angel for all of their hard work this summer. We’re better people for knowing you. And we’re especially excited that our journey together doesn’t need to end here.
Looking forward to years of friendship and journey together…
Preemptive Love Coalition Staff
Ranu Giving Others Rides on Her Bike After Her Successful February Surgery
June 29, 2009 by Abby · Leave a Comment
Yesterday, PLC Family Advocates and Summer Interns visited Ranu, one of our heart surgery kids from February.
She looks so different, we almost didn’t recognize her! Not only does she have a new hair cut, but she looks much healthier. While we were there, she was running and playing, which she was unable to do before her surgery. Prior to her surgery, whenever she was tired, she just laid down wherever she was. Now, she is able to run and play like any other 5 year-old. In fact, she was so active, while we were there, she gave kids rides on her two-seater bike.
Bruska Ready for School in the Fall After Successful Heart Surgery Last January
June 27, 2009 by Ruth · Leave a Comment
Yesterday, PLC Family Advocates and Summer Interns went to visit Bruska. Bruska was all smiles while we were there. She really wants to go to school next year with her older sister. You can tell she really loves her family and that she enjoys being around people. As our physical therapist, Ruth, worked a little with her, her face lit up - especially while playing with her doll.
She is doing well since her heart surgery in January.
Roshna Surprises All by Passing Her Classes In Spite of Many Absences Prior to Surgery
June 26, 2009 by Ruth · Leave a Comment
Yesterday, PLC Family Advocates and Summer Interns visited Roshna, a sixteen year old girl who had heart surgery in February, who seems to be doing well.
When asked about how she now feels post-surgery, she says that her lips no longer turn blue from lack of oxygen and she is able breathe much easier. She is happy, making jokes and laughing during our visit.
Roshna had exciting news for us: She passed her school exams, which was quite an accomplishment because she had missed three months of school this year due to her heart condition. The school threatened to not allow her to take her exams because they said there would be no way she could pass them, but she proved them wrong! We are all very proud of her!
Now that she is on summer break, she enjoys drawing and watching TV. She showed us several of her recent drawing which she had copied free-handedly.
She’s excited about the future and looks forward to going to college and possibly being an engineer.
Heart surgeries for Iraqi kids is so much more than it often sounds. These life-saving heart surgeries are game changing, allowing kids to complete their school and aspire to the highest fields of work in the land.
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