It is our last day here in Amman, Jordan for this visit!
Thanks to our partners Gift of Life International – Jordan and Chain of Hope, this visit to Amman has been another successful journey of healing little hearts, and spreading hope and knowledge to those who need it across the globe.
Final Updates for Now
As our time in Amman comes to an end, we are giving our final updates on the children in the ICU for now. Though recovery from open heart surgery can be hard and have many bumps in the road, the children who received surgery this week are doing well!
Kareem’s Healed Heart Expedition
Kareem after his catheterization procedure.
Kareem is our child who received his catheterization procedure on Thursday! Kareem has endured a long and challenging road with congenital heart disease. He’s had multiple procedures, including both catheterization and open heart surgery. After months of coordination with Gift of Life International – Jordan, he was finally able to travel from Yemen to Jordan and receive his final catheterization procedure. This procedure widened an artery in his heart and will improve his quality of life!
Healing Little Hearts through Collaboration and Cooperation
Healing little hearts is not an easy job, but it is a fulfilling one. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to be able to do what our medical teams do.
Not only does it take hard work and dedication, it takes the ability to be accepting and understanding of others. Diversity and teamwork are pillars of Gift of Life International that contribute to our collective success.
Gift of Life International brings together teams with all kinds of societal, religious, and cultural backgrounds to help heal the hearts of children from different countries around the world. To Gift of Life International and our loyal partners, it does not matter where you come from or where you are now, it only matters that you are human. Our differences help us come together stronger and work together better.
Dr. Mohammed Ghanama (center right), OR nurse Lyn Javier (right of Dr. Ghanama), and OR nurse Arlene LeMin (left of Dr. Ghanama) with members of the local medical team.
Our team in Jordan this week was made up of doctors and nurses from all different backgrounds. We had individuals on this visit that are Jordanian, American-Jordanian, American-Pakistani, Russian-American, American and Filipino. Some individuals were Christian, some Muslim, some Jewish. All helping children from Syria, Palestine, Jordan, and Yemen.
It is incredible to see so much diversity in one setting. Even more so it is incredible to see an example of large diversity within a group, and that group still being able to work together towards the same goal.
OR nurse Lyn Javier with the local anesthesia tech. (Nurse Lyn said he worked very hard, helped a lot, and bought everyone coffee on their last day!)
Lyn Javier, local OR nurse Danna, and Arlene LeMin.
Visiting and local team members. (Nurse Arlene LeMin far left, Dr. Ghanamah fifth from left, nurse Lyn Javier second from right, and perfusionist Tom Roberts far right.)
Dr. Iyaad Ammouri, Dr. Saad Feroz, and Dr. Maria Bergel in the ICU.
Dr. Maria Bergel, a local nurse, Dr. Saad Feroz, and nurse Becky Howard in the ICU breakroom.
It is thanks to teams like this that volunteer their time, resources, and knowledge that we are able to continue helping heal hearts around the world.
Until next time, Amman!
After a long week of healing little hearts in Amman, Jordan most of our team will head home tomorrow (Saturday). Two individuals (Dr. Maria Bergel and nurse Nathan Baig) will stay to keep up with the children until Monday.
With heartfelt thanks again to our partners Gift of Life International – Jordan and Chain of Hope, as well as to our dedicated local and visiting medical teams, and everyone else who made this trip possible. We cannot wait to be back in the special city of Amman this summer, helping heal little hearts once again!
Until next time!
Brenda Small is the Operations Consultant at Gift of Life International. She assumed this role in 2012.
Brenda was inspired to help children in need with heart disease after her third child was born with a complex heart defect and underwent successful open-heart surgery in her first year of life. Brenda learned of Gift of Life International in 2006 at which time she established Gift of Life Los Angeles where she holds the position of President. Between 2008 and 2012, Brenda volunteered her time to help with Gift of Life International in addition to running Gift of Life Los Angeles.
From 2012 to 2022, Brenda held the position of Director of Operations for Gift of Life International. Today, she continues this lifesaving work as Operations Consultant. Brenda also implemented the Nutritional Program in El Salvador in 2008 which has now provided nutritional support to more than 250 children and their families. Brenda has traveled with many of the Gift of Life training teams and witnessed these precious lives being saved.
