Our Doctors are Heroes!

While her neighbors were still having breakfast—enjoying their bread, tea, and a little cheese—Wadha was in trouble.

Her plans for the day stopped the moment her heart stopped.

At the 13 clinics you help support in northern Iraq, highly trained doctors see a wide range of patients—pregnant women, children with skin conditions, elderly residents with chronic illnesses like diabetes and high blood pressure, and young men with serious trauma wounds.

They often treat patients with life-threatening conditions (the cost of untreated infection is real!) but each patient shares one thing in common when come through the door: they are still alive.

When Wadha was carried through the doors of the Tal Ali clinic, unconscious and wrapped in a blanket, the doctors immediately checked her vitals.

She had no blood pressure and no heart rate.

The medical team administered CPR to Wadha for thirty minutes and shocked her heart three times. When she didn’t respond to any of their efforts, the doctors delivered the bad news to Wadha’s family that she was dead.

But Wadha’s family was not ready to let her go. They wept in the clinic and their sorrow moved the team’s hearts. They decided to keep trying to save Wadha’s life.

For an hour, they continued CPR. For an hour they performed chest compressions and used a bag to squeeze oxygen into Wadha’s lungs. Then suddenly, after an hour of effort, her heart started beating again. Another fifteen minutes later, Wadha started breathing, and then regained semi-consciousness.

The medical team arranged an ambulance to take Wadha to a larger hospital where she could get further tests and care for her underlying medical issue. Then, five days later, Wadha returned to the medical center with her children and grandchildren to say thanks.

Even though she had just been discharged from a hospital, you can see above that our Doctors took the time to check her blood pressure and make sure her vitals were strong.

Wadha wouldn’t be here today if weren’t for this medical center, close enough to her home to get care while there was still time.

Wadha wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for an extraordinary, committed medical team who care deeply for their patients.

And this medical center and this team wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you!