This boy! I spot him as soon as I step into the hallway. He’s holding his mom’s hand and going for a little walk.
His smile is back! I’m not sure I’ve seen anything so beautiful.
He stops for some photos, but Hamam is keen to get to his destination a few doors down the hall: the ward, where moms and kids wait their turn for heart surgery.
Hamam’s very first outing was a visit—he just had to show the other families that he was doing fine!
Next stop? Back to his bed for a little supper: spaghetti, salad, and a little chicken. You know a kid’s feeling better when he slurps back his spaghetti!
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It’s the normalcy of the moment that hits me—a mom feeding spaghetti to her son. This same action must be happening in millions of homes around the world today. For a moment, I forget that Hamam escaped the violence of his home town to make it to the hospital. And if not for the beeping monitors all around me, I could almost forget that his lifesaving heart surgery allowed him to escape death a second time.
We are so grateful for everyone who helps make these operations happen for kids like Hamam!
It’s like a whirlwind here! And we have little internet access. As soon as we could, we uploaded a video of Hamam’s story. Over the last day and a half, I’ve been sharing my thoughts as I walked through the surgery with Hamam and his mom. You can read more of his story here.