Saving Lives in Libya: A Tiny Superhero Gets a Mended Heart

“Moy-ah! Moy-ah! Moy-ah! Moy-ah!”

The first word from Ayoub’s mouth when he was well enough to speak after his heart surgery was, “Water!”

We just returned from Libya, where you helped us provide lifesaving heart surgeries for kids with no other way getting the care they need.

Ayoub’s mom stays at his bedside for long visits. She sits in a chair close enough to the bed to rub his feet. When Ayoub was able to drink, she gave her son sips of water from a plastic syringe, or tried to comfort him when he asked for more. Which was often. Really often.

Most children just need a little time to feel like themselves again. Ayoub is no exception. His fussy spells grew farther apart. He started to blow kisses in the air, just because he felt like it. He had tiny conversations with his mom, that involved something other than “water.”

And the worried lines on his mom’s forehead relaxed.

Ayoub is almost ready to be discharged. He holds his bottle in one hand, and raises the other to shoot webs like Spiderman. Pfew! Pfew! Pfew! Invisible webs fly across the ICU from a tiny superhero.

When you donated to give Ayoub the heart surgery he needed, you also made the world a little safer from villains.