update on kids

By tomorrow we will have sent 8 children to Turkey for live saving heart surgery, we have been calling them The Great Eight. Four of these kids were labeled as urgent cases who needed surgery immediately but the doctor believed they had a good chance of recovery. The other four are children who need caths and possibly echos to determine if they are even operable. They are all very serious cases, some requiring multiple surgeries in order to have any hope of survival. So far Taban, Ranu, Ahmed, and Lowran have come through their surgeries successfully. Taban, who is a 13-year-old girl is doing well. She doesn’t like her breathing exercises and was in quite a bit of pain after the surgery, but the doctor thinks she and Ranu, who is an 8 year old girl will be able to return to Iraq on Saturday.
Ahmed and Lawran have also come through surgery. Ahmed was a very serious case; he came to our office last week and couldn’t walk from the chair to the couch. He had blue lips, and fingernails from lack of oxygen. The doctor thought he would require up to 4 surgeries. He came through the first surgery successfully and even though they were not able to fully repair his veins the doctor thinks that in a few years he could be a candidate for another surgery. Ahmed is out of ICU and his coloring is pink and he is much better. Baby Lowran is only 10 months old and had a very risky surgery yesterday that took over 4 hours. He is still in ICU and will remain in critical condition for the next day, but the doctor feels very good about his surgery. Zana is the last of the initial 5 that were sent to Turkey for surgery. Unfortunately he contracted an infection and has been ill for the last several days therefore postponing his surgery until Monday. Serhang and Rashna arrived safely in Turkey on Wednesday and have been going through the necessary tests to confirm diagnosis before surgery.
Serhang is an 11-year-old boy who is still in need of a cath, but will hopefully have surgery early next week. Rashna is a 16-year-old girl who cried before she left for Turkey because she was so grateful that it was finally her turn. We are still waiting for a scheduling confirmation on her surgery. We have another infant that will be traveling to Turkey for surgery late tonight. Her name is baby Honyar, she is only 4 months old and her dad came to our office just two weeks ago asking for our help. He was told that their daughter would have only 2 months left to live without surgery. It has been quite a week.
I ask that you would be praying for these children and their parents, as this is a very stressful situation. Our friends Scott & Abby traveled to Turkey with these families and are caring for them. Please pray for them also, that God would give them strength and love as they go through this critical time alongside these families. Two weeks ago we had a list of 8 names and we were trying to figure out who we could send and now all 8 children are in Turkey receiving the surgeries they need to have the chance to grow up – Praise the Lord – it is only by His grace and mercy. Here are some pictures of some of the kids. The first is Ranu after surgery and the second is baby Lowran before surgery.