Day two was buzzing with energy from the beginning! These trips would not be possible without Gift of Life International – Jordan and Chain of Hope. Thanks to their support, as well as the countless hours of devotion to healing little hearts from our visiting and local teams, these trips are made possible!
Starting the Day with Healing and Hope
The day shift arrived at Jordan University Hospital around 7:30 AM this morning.
Beginning with rounds, they learned about any update or information needed to care for the patients properly from the night shift. After rounding, they were ready for the eventful day ahead!
Teams rounding this morning.
Teams rounding this morning.
The children who received surgery yesterday are well on their way to having a healed heart! Elias is doing especially well, since he was the first to have his surgery done, and has had the most time to heal! Faris began to do better and better as the day went on.
Elias will be able to move to the step down unit tomorrow. While Faris will need some extended time in the intensive care unit (ICU), he should not be far behind Elias on the way to a healed heart!
Nurse Becky Howard and a local nurse taking care of Elias early this morning.
Dr. Saad Feroz (left) and Dr. Maria Bergel (right) study an ultrasound of Faris’ heart presented by Dr. Iyad Ammouri.
Dr. Maria Bergel discussing cases with local nurses and visiting nurse Becky Howard.
After things calmed down a bit from the morning switch over, Dr. Maria Bergel took the opportunity to do some team building and provide some education. She sat down with local nurses to discuss the care plans and treatment for their two current patients. This helped to ensure that everyone was on the same page about what medications to give the patients when, and for how long, when to feed the child, and other important happenings. Being in sync as a team is extremely important when caring for critical cases in children!
As the ICU team cared for the two current patients, they also prepared for the arrival of the next two, who will be having surgery today! Their names are Rofan and Hamza.
Rofan: A Tale of Community and Triumph
Our first surgery today was on Rofan!
Rofan before surgery.
Rofan before surgery.
Rofan is the youngest of eight children to a single refugee mother from Syria. She received her first surgery, in preparation for the one today, by receiving an interventional catheterization procedure with Dr. Iyad Ammouri during Gift of Life International’s visit to Jordan University Hospital in August.
Now, she is ready for the next step: open heart surgery! Rofan has an atrioventricular canal defect. This is when the upper and lower chambers of the heart do not connect properly. Rofan’s operation today will be to repair this canal! To do so, the surgeon places two patches on the heart muscle where needed. Then, as the child grows, tissue grows over the patches!
Rofan came out of surgery early this evening and will spend the night resting.
Dr. Laila Tutanji takes an ultrasound of Rofan’s chest with Dr. Maria Bergel. Nurse Becky Howard and a local nurse practice critical care.
Dr. Laila Tutanji takes an ultrasound of Rofan’s chest while Dr. Saad Feroz and Dr. Maria Bergel perform intensive care.
Tomorrow, Rofan will receive some special visitors while she continues to heal in the ICU. These visitors are children from International Community school here in Amman, Jordan. Rofan’s surgery through Gift of Life International was funded largely by the children here, who spent time raising money for her to receive treatment!
International Community School raised $6,000 for Rofan. This money will help cover costs for her surgery, stay, medication, instruments used, and much more that will make the healing of her heart possible!
This kinship and community is felt across the city of Amman. When walking around the hospital with a local it is not uncommon for them to stop multiple times to chat with workers and visitors alike. People ask each other about how they and their families are doing. They keep up with each other and deeply care about one another. It is part of Jordanian culture to help look after one another whenever they can! Therefore, it is no surprise that even the young community in Jordan banded together to help a child in need! This is only part of the characteristics of Jordan that make it so special!
We will provide updates on how the visit went between Rofan and her amazing team of supporters!
Hamza’s Heart Journey
The second surgery today was performed on Hamza! Hamza and his family are also from Syria.
Hamza with his father.
Hamza with his Gift of Life International teddy bear before surgery.
Hamza is a special case! He was born with tricuspid atresia. Tricuspid atresia is when the valve between the heart’s two right chambers does not form. The right side of the heart is the side that receives low oxygenated blood from the body, and pumps it into the lungs to get reoxygenated, to then be sent back out to the body. With tricuspid atresia, the blood is not being properly oxygenated. Hamza’s congenital heart defect required a series of three surgeries to be done.
Hamza at 15 days old.
Hamza at 15 days old, held by his father outside of the hospital.
Na’el Musharbash, Hamza’s father, and Hamza at Jordan University Hospital.
Hamza was referred to Gift of Life International for the first time at just 15 days old. It was then that he received his first surgery through the program. After that, he received his second surgery with a different non-governmental organization at a separate hospital. Now, he is back with Gift of Life International to receive the third and final surgery needed for his defect!
Hamza’s operation today is called the Fontan. The Fontan procedure is when the surgeon takes the vein attached to the right side of the heart (that returns deoxygenated blood from the lower half of the body to the heart), and connects it directly to the lungs instead. This blood will no longer pass through the heart, and receive adequate oxygenation, as it had not been doing so before since the heart could not pump the blood to the lungs itself!
It has been a long journey, but Hamza has finally made it to the final surgery and is on his way to having a healed heart!
Importance and Impact: Specialized Care for Congenital Heart Disease in Jordan
Dr. Saad Feroz watches over a child in the ICU today.
Awareness and aid for congenital heart disease is important in not only Jordan, but across the world. February is heart month, and the perfect time to help spread this awareness and continue this aid! Did you know that 1.3 million children around the world are born with a congenital heart defect each year? 93% of these children are born in countries that cannot provide treatment. Cardiac surgery is expensive and not easily attainable for those who are living in underprivileged and underserved countries. For perspective, the average monthly wage in Jordan in 2021 was 546 Jordanian Dinars (JOD). This is equal to 769.67 United States dollars.
In Jordan, many children are insured and get treatment through the Royal Medical Services (RMS). Though, since there are so many children on that list, and the RMS will only cover costs up to a certain amount, Gift of Life International provides funding, surgery, and care to the children that need it. While Jordanian children are insured through the RMS, the story is different for child refugees from surrounding countries.
Refugees make up 30% of Jordan’s population. This means there are 3 million refugees in Jordan from surrounding countries, including 700,000 Syrians and 2.4 million Palestinians.
For refugees, it is difficult to find work due to a fear of hiring refugees from locals. Without the ability to get a job and provide for themselves and their children, refugees are forced to let their children go without the proper care needed for congenital heart disease. This lack of care could lead to health complications for their child for the rest of its life. Refugees’ only chances at medical aid in Jordan are through the operation of medical visits. This is where Gift of Life International and our partners step in. During our visits to Jordan, Chain of Hope covers the costs for all non-Jordanian children to receive care!
Visiting and local teams work together to take care of Rofan in the ICU.
Congenital heart disease awareness is not only important in the country of Jordan, but in countries across the globe. Helping heal little hearts around the world not only affects the lives of children. It changes the lives of their families and community as well. It impacts the well-being of everyone involved. Gift of Life International, Gift of Life International – Jordan, and Chain of Hope are dedicated to providing surgery and critical care to the children of Jordan. We will not only continue to help change lives and heal little hearts, but continue will the transfer of knowledge and education to local teams as well in hopes the one day Jordan University Hospital will be able to provide the care and resources needed to heal children with CHD by itself!
Setting the Sun on Day 2!
As day 2 comes to an end, the hope and ambition for the rest of the week is palpable. We will see you back here tomorrow for updates on the children, as well as the visit to Rofan from International Community School! Stay tuned!
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.
