Unable to obtain treatment in Syria or Jordan, a young Syrian girl received life saving heart surgery in Israel through the Israeli humanitarian organization Save A Child’s Heart.
A four-year-old Syrian girl who was the daughter of Syrian refugees in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has just successfully completed heart surgery in Israel. The Israeli organization that arranged for this heart surgery is called Save A Child’s Heart. Save a Child’s Heart has assisted over 3,200 children from now 45 countries, including over 1,500 from the Palestinian Authority. Save a Child’s Heart makes a point to save lives regardless of race, gender, economic status, or nationality.
Upon the Syrian girls’ arrival in Israel, the Syrian child was examined by Save a Child’s Heart medical staff, who determined that she would be operated on immediately. The child was referred to Save a Child’s Heart by the American Christian Association, an American humanitarian organization working in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The procedure took place at a hospital in the Israeli city of Holon, where the girl is presently recovering in the hospital’s intensive care unit.
According to the child’s mother, Syrian doctors discovered her heart condition when she was six months old. Evidently, her heart only had one ventricle, instead of two, which caused her to be abnormally tired, very weak, and caused her breathing problems. This condition was life-threatening. When the Syrian civil war began, her mother realized that her daughters’ only hope to live was to leave Syria and go abroad. So, her family moved to Jordan.
“We kept taking her to doctors and to the hospital but nothing could be done for her,” the mother said. “She couldn’t run and play like other children and she was very sick most of the time.” This is what prompted her to appeal to the American Christian Association, who in turn suggested that they go to Israel.
Evidently, the mother was apprehensive about coming to Israel, which is considered an enemy country by Syria but she said that the most important thing for her was to save her daughters’ life. “At first I feared the Syrian regime’s response to our coming here,” said the mother. “Naturally, I myself was also afraid to come to Israel. But the moment I arrived I felt at ease. The doctors treated me and my girl nicely.” Doctors also introduced the mother and daughter to other Arabic speakers in the hospital, many of whom are Palestinian. Evidently, this Syrian child’s condition was very dire upon entering Israel. “Without the surgery she could have died within a few months, maybe even weeks,” said the surgeon, Doctor Lior Sasson. “It’s uplifting to perform surgery on a child from a hostile country. We can show Syrians and the world we look for peace.”
By Rachel Avraham
For more information about Save A Child’s Heart visit: http://www.saveachildsheartus.org
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