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Sara’s Valve Surgery is a Complete Success!
March 5, 2010 by Jeremy · Leave a Comment
Drs. Sertaç & Ahmet Corrected a Life-threatening Problem w/ Sara’s Valve in a 4 hr. Surgery
Sara’s surgery was a complete success! And for a child living with a congenital heart disease for 14 years, that is no small celebration! Not every condition or child is the same, but generally speaking, congenital heart defects are best addressed at a young age. Years of damage and overcompensation often render a child inoperable or create attendant problems such as pulmonary hypertension.
It’s a joy to see Sara come through surgery with the exact corrective procedure that the doctors had planned on performing prior to surgery.
Yesterday it was virtually out of the question for Sara to marry and have children - her heart condition simply wouldn’t allow that sort of additional stress to her body.
Today, doctors estimate that they have extended her life by up to twenty years before she’s likely to need any additional procedures. At that point, the field of cardiac surgery will be more advanced, and it’s hard to even speculate what options may be available to her at that time. In any case, her heart is healed and her body is healing.
And if she wants to, she can even dream about having kids someday! It’s amazing what you’ve done!
To make a small donation to the next child in Iraq waiting for a surgery similar to Sara’s, please enter the amount of your choice below and press “Donate.”
Follow Sara on Twitter: @SaraMuaeed. Subscribe to Sara’s updates via RSS HERE. Follow Sara’s thread of longer stories (with pictures & video) on the PLC blog HERE.
Can You Imagine Sending Your Child - Like Sara’s Mom Did - Through These Doors for Heart Surgery?
March 5, 2010 by Jeremy · Leave a Comment
When I spend time with these two year olds, I just see my son, Micah. When I spend time with the four and five years olds, all I see is my daughter, Emma. And I’ll be honest, as often as I tell these parents not to worry and not to fear, it’s very hard for me to imagine sending my own kids down that corridor.
More information on the results of Sara’s surgery as soon as possible…
     
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All that is required to get the next child down this hallway is:
We’ll get the next child on their way in a few weeks! |
Follow Sara on Twitter: @SaraMuaeed. Subscribe to Sara’s updates via RSS HERE. Follow Sara’s thread of longer stories (with pictures & video) on the PLC blog HERE.
Dua is Out of Surgery with a Total Correction for Her Heart
February 27, 2010 by Jeremy · Leave a Comment
I reported incorrectly on Thursday when I introduced Dua as having “tricuspid atresia.” She in fact came to us with “extreme Tetralogy of Fallot.” The great news is that she just received a total correction for her heart problem that we plaguing her and threatening her life just days ago.
While everything did go according to plan, Dua does have a fever right now in ICU and nurses are monitoring her closely as we head into the weekend.
Please continue to pray for this little girl; specifically that whatever is causing her fever would subside and that she will stabilized and be removed from life-support in the next day or two.
With gratitude and joy,
Follow Dua Arif on Twitter: @Dua_Arif. Subscribe to Dua’s updates via RSS HERE. Follow Dua’s thread of longer stories (with pictures & video) on the PLC blog HERE.
Dua Looking a Little Unsure as She Waits to be Taken to Surgery this Morning
February 26, 2010 by Jeremy · Leave a Comment
There’s not much more to say… this picture pretty much captures the uneasiness of this part of the journey. So much hope, fear, trust, and distrust is inherent to the moments right before surgery.
Thanks for joining Dua and her family as they entrust her into the hands of the Turkish team… from their perspective, this is the only chance she’s got. And thanks for all you’ve done to fund her surgery to get her to this point.
Dua’s name means prayer. So as we all remember Dua right now, we honor her parents and honor GOD by entrusting her life to GOD in prayer. More to come after she emerges from surgery…
Follow Dua Arif on Twitter: @Dua_Arif. Subscribe to Dua’s updates via RSS HERE. Follow Dua’s thread of longer stories (with pictures & video) on the PLC blog HERE.
Total Correction for Muhammed!
February 25, 2010 by Jeremy · Leave a Comment
Doctors accomplished the total correction they were hoping for with Muhammed. But he came to us with extremely high pulmonary pressure (in his lungs) so the coming days in ICU will be incredibly important.
Special thanks to Erica Fischer of EMF Images for partnering with us to save Muhammed’s life. At the suggestion of EMF’s Erica Fischer, Cameron and Ben (left) donated the sitting fee for their engagement pictures to the Preemptive Love Coalition to help fund Muhammed’s surgery. This ongoing partnership with EMF promises to save a lot of lives in Iraq and engage the hearts of many who thought they were just signing up for EMF’s great photography!
We know there are hundreds of you out there doing amazing stuff like this to save lives. Sometimes we just don’t know what you’re up to! Contact us.
Follow Muhammed Adnan on Twitter: @MuhammedAdnan. Subscribe to Muhammed’s updates via RSS HERE. Follow Muhammed’s thread of longer stories (with pictures & video) on the PLC blog HERE.
Family Followthrough in Iraq: A Day of Post-operative Testing on Former Heart Surgery Recipients
February 22, 2010 by Jeremy · 1 Comment
Last week we were honored to have some of the excellent medical staff from the Anadolu Medical Center in Istanbul, Turkey make the trip to our office in Iraq to work with us on a few current and future initiatives. Among our agenda for the week:
The video above represents one of our agenda items for the week! In coming days we hope to post a photo narrative about the amazing alumni banquet and a story from local media about the Turkish delegation and PLC’s peacemaking agenda with them.
Don’t forget to push PLAY above to watch hope and life in motion!
Meet Daryan
July 20, 2009 by Jeremy · 1 Comment
There has been a lot of back and forth in the PLC office as to whether or not we should even introduce you to Daryan or just quietly send him to surgery. Daryan’s condition is very bad - and with Shad’s death in June (as well as Honyar’s in February) - we have been reluctant to draw your attention again to what might end up as another tragic story of pain and loss.
But there is a hopeful flip side: when days look darkest and all hope seems gone, the surprise joy of a miraculous intervention and recovery can be enough to really change the world.
If we only showed you the safest children of whom we were assured success, our work would be devoid of much meaning. It’s in the riskiest, most difficult cases that our hopes are heightened - along with our fears. And it is in these cases - whether success or failure - that we find our own hearts and the communities among whom we work most affected and changed.
So this is Daryan - a four-month-old with a number of problems that prompted the Kurdish doctor in our city who has seen 99% of our kids to date to say, “This is the worst child I have ever seen.”
Already the odds have been stacked against him and his family. He is clearly malnourished. But PLC staffers and volunteers have come alongside the family to offer practical guidance on newborn and infant feeding techniques. His family did not have passports, but through the hard work of PLC’s Iraqi translator (and through a lot of string pulling and system-playing) both baby and mother now have passports in hand - a full 24 hours before the plane takes off tomorrow!
Daryan has proven to be a fighter and a survivor thus far. There is a massive road ahead and there is no guarantee that our Turkish doctors will even accept Daryan to surgery after performing their own diagnostic tests. And if they do not accept him to surgery, he will be sent back to Iraq to await him imminent death. But if they do accept him! What a glorious change could be wrought in his life! Of course, surgery alone is no guarantee (as we have seen before). But we will take what we can get for Daryan, one step at a time.
Follow 4-month-old Daryan on Twitter: @daryansalah. Subscribe to Daryan’s updates via RSS here. Follow Daryan’s thread of longer stories (with pictures) on the PLC blog here.
NOTE: In accordance with PLC’s desire to lend a hand-up by avoiding strict hand-outs (when possible), Daryan’s family has funded approximately $2,500 of PLC’s highly-discounted surgery price themselves.
Meet Mohammed
July 20, 2009 by Jessica · Leave a Comment
Mohammed is eleven years old with a fourfold combination of heart problems called Tetralogy of Fallot. The doctors expect that his quality of life will be significantly improved by a relatively routine (still plenty difficult) heart surgery in Istanbul this week.
Mohammed and his family hail from one of the more “hot bed” regions of Iraq along the fault line of semi-autonomous Kurdish and Arab areas.
We always enjoy taking older kids to surgery because, though there is a considerable risk for older children, it’s always a joy to experience the journey with them and to hear them express in their own words the impact that a surgery makes on their well-being. Look for more of Mohammed’s own words and gratitude on the blog as the week goes on.
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.
NOTE: In accordance with PLC’s desire to lend a hand-up by avoiding strict hand-outs (when possible), Mohammed’s family has funded approximately $5,000 of PLC’s highly-discounted surgery price themselves.
All Smiles as Children leave ICU
February 19, 2009 by Jessica · Leave a Comment
This is a visual post to let you all see how much the children are enjoying their newly repaired hearts. It is amazing to see pink cheeks and big smiles where we once saw withdrawn scared little faces. So here they are. Enjoy these images and thank you on their behalf for all you have done to help them get to surgery.
Ahmad Out of Surgery! No More Blue Skin! All is Pink & Healthy!
February 17, 2009 by Jeremy · Leave a Comment
Ahmed is out of surgery. His oxygen levels are already up by 25%. His future is hopefully less blue and a more healthy pink. His dad is crying tears of joy.
Dr. Çiçek at the Anadolu Sağlik Merkezi was clear that this is not a long-term, fully corrective solution; but this first surgery should allow him to finally live long enough to receive the staged surgeries he’ll need over the coming years to actually live a fully functional adult life.
We’ll update with more information as soon as we know it.
Follow Ahmad’s daily updates on Twitter or via his RSS feed.
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