Today I had the chance to sit down and chat with Ajeen and Haymen, two young ICU nurses in Northern Iraq.
Haymen is living his dream. After his father died in 1991 from heart disease, he dedicated his life and career to taking care of others with the same condition.
It wasn’t until 2005, when the nursing college began to accept males due to the huge demand for nurses in Iraq, that he actually got to do what we had wanted to do all along…mend hearts.
Ajeen was placed in the nursing college by the government but from day one, she knew she was going to love it. “I love working in the ICU because I know I’m doing something worthwhile. I know I’m helping”, she said as she kept glancing at her patient, lying on a bed next to her.
Haymen was finishing his eight hour shift. “This is so beautiful, to have these teams here. They work so hard. They never leave a patient’s side unless they know they’re completely taken care of.” Ajeen pitched in, “They never stop. It’s like they never get tired of taking care of these children. Because of them being here though, now these children can live. Now they have a chance. They don’t have to go overseas to be operated on.”
I asked Haymen what he’s learned today and he immediately answered back, “Yesterday, to give these children more oxygen in their lungs after their operation, I was hitting their back with my hands. I would feel awful because it was hurting the children and it wasn’t even giving them anymore oxygen. Today, they taught me a better way. They taught me to use an oxygen mask to gently pound up and down their back and it didn’t hurt the children! Their lungs got more oxygen than I ever knew how to give them. I’m learning so much from them.”
“They’re teaching us to become great nurses”, Haymen said proudly. “I have so many questions for them, I’m only waiting for a chance to ask them all.”
Why do we believe in Remedy Missions? Because we believe in Ajeen and Haymen.
To show your support for Ajeen and Haymen and become a part of the Remedy, join our community of lifesavers 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.
