Our fourth day in Jordan and it was an eventful one! We now have seven children in the ICU and we are done with surgery for the week! There was also one catheterization case done today!
Gift of Life International is happy and proud to be a part of such an amazing visit, and thankful to Gift of Life International – Jordan and Chain of Hope. Without the support and dedication from both of these partner organizations, this trip would not have been possible. Team work always makes the dream work!
A Morning in the ICU
We started with rounds to begin our day of course! The nurses and doctors rounded this morning so that the day shift could take over and the night shift could go home to rest up. Parents also come early in the morning to be with their children for the rest of the day.
Morning rounds.
Morning rounds.
Hamza’s mother spends time with him in the ICU.
The Long Road to a Healthy Heart
Dr. Maria Bergel begins preparation to insert a chest tube into one of the children.
Healing after heart surgery can be a long road with many turns, but every step of the journey is worth the end result. This morning, one of the children needed a chest tube inserted into their chest! This was because there was too much fluid building up around the lungs, and the chest tube would help to drain this fluid out. This makes it easier for the child to breathe, which in turn makes it easier for them to heal quicker! After the chest tube was inserted, the child began doing better than before, but he still has a long way to go before he is one hundred percent healed.
Dr. Maria Bergel inserts the chest tube with help from Dr. Mohammed Absi.
Dr. Maria Bergel inserts the chest tube with help from Dr. Mohammed Absi.
Omar’s Path to Wellness
Omar was our first surgery of the day!
Omaar before surgery.
Omar is six months old and has TAR syndrome, which means he does not have radius bones in his forearms! Omar was diagnosed with a patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). This defect affects how blood flows through the lungs. To heal Omar’s PDA, the surgeon went in through an incision on his side to patch it up! Omar did not have to receive open heart surgery, so his healing process should be a little quicker than the other children!
Dr. Mohammad Ghanamah discusses Omar’s surgery with Dr. Maria Bergel, nurse Becky Howard, and local nurses.
Dr. Mohammad Ghanamah discusses Omar’s surgery with Dr. Maria Bergel, nurse Becky Howard, and local nurses.
Omar recovers in the ICU.
Wadha’s Road to Recovery
Our second surgery today was done on a child named Wadha. Wadha is a 10 year old girl from Yemen who travelled to Jordan to receive surgery with Gift of Life International.
Wadha is received by the ICU team.
Wadha after her surgery.
Wadha received an operation for a large ASD today. Dr. Ghanamah performed open heart surgery to patch up the hole in Wadha’s heart. Wadha is now recovering in the ICU, and was the last surgery to be done on this visit to Amman!
Gift of Life International – Jordan Vice-Chair and Mission Coordinator: Ruba Karadsheh
Ruba Karadsheh is the vice-chair and mission coordinator for Gift of Life International – Jordan. Ruba is Jordanian, living here in Amman, and is married with two adult children! Ruba is an interior designer, but volunteers for Gift of Life International because of her passion for helping children be the healthiest versions of themselves.
Ruba is the sweetest when it comes to the children. Whenever she meets a child on our visits, her face lights up and she could talk to them for hours! Ruba helps to make not only the children but the parents feel calm and safe before surgery with her delightful demeanor and caring attitude.
Ruba with a patient and their mother during a visit.
Ruba has been working for Gift of Life International – Jordan for almost 9 years. Her husband Na’el Musharbash is the chair for this chapter, and her son is how it all started for them! Ruba’s son was the first of the family to reach out to CEO Rob Raylman when he was only a freshman in college. He asked Rob many questions through multiple emails and phone calls. It was these acts of determination that got Rob’s attention and made him think this freshman in college might just be serious about beginning a new chapter of Gift of Life International in Jordan!
Ruba does so much for the Gift of Life International visits such as coordinating flights for the team, coordinating rides to and from the hospital and airport, making sure lunches are provided to the OR and ICU teams everyday. She talks to each and every parent and child, gets consent forms for them for pictures, brings them their teddy bears and blankets. She answers any question at any time of day for the visiting team and will help them with whatever they need. She even coordinates drivers to take the visiting team members to do sight seeing when they are done with the visit if they want to! Ruba Karadsheh volunteers countless hours of her time to the Gift of Life International visits in Jordan. These visits would not function so smoothly without her!
Ruba Karadsheh and Saed Karadsheh with a patient during a visit.
When asked about her favorite memory while volunteering for Gift of Life International, Ruba said, “Honestly I have lots of memories with the children. I have now helped up to 430 children and every child has a different precious memory. They’re all special. Seriously, they’re all special.”
“The best and the most precious moment is when I see a child discharged from the hospital and with their parents, leaving for home. [The parents go through] an emotional transformation, from very worried people, to the waiting period when their child is getting better, to happiness.”
To end our conversation with Ruba, we asked what her hope is for Gift of Life International – Jordan in the future. “I look forward to seeing the final results of the sustainable program that we work towards with Gift of Life International,” she said. “I believe this is the best gift that GOLI Jordan can give to the children of Jordan with congenital heart defects.”
Na’el Musharbash, Ruba Karadsheh, their son Farah (left to right), and their daughter Noor (back).
We are so lucky to have Ruba, Na’el, and their son Farah, working with Gift of Life International and our partner Chain of Hope to be able to make these visits possible. These two individuals, as well as their son, helped start it all and we are so grateful for their diligence and commitment to healing little hearts in the country of Jordan.
One More Day to Go
Although we have completed surgeries for the week, some of the team will still be here tomorrow to continue helping with the healing processes of our children in the ICU. Dr. Maria Bergel and nurse Nathan Baig will stay through Monday to continue aiding the children, while the rest of the team will leave Saturday morning! See you tomorrow for the last blog post of this visit!
Rob Raylman is the Chief Executive officer for Gift of Life International. He assumed this role in 2008.
Rob is a life-long resident of New York State. He graduated Hobart College in 1984 with a BS in Political Science. Over the years, he worked for US Senator Alfonse D’Amato and held the position of Vice President for Browning-Ferris Industries (at the time, the second largest international solid waste company in the world). In 2008, Rob created the position of CEO for Gift of Life International. Since then, he was visited 38 countries on 5 continents to build the Gift of Life Global Network of 84 affiliates. During Rob’s tenure with Gift of Life International, 30 affiliates have been created while over 35,000 children have received care for their heart defects.
Rob focuses on strategically building bridges between Gift of Life programs, foreign Governments, Rotary Clubs and Districts, like-minded organizations and hospital administrations in order to address the Global Crisis of congenital heart defects.
