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Schneider Children's International
 | The light of excitement on the face of 26 year-old Majed Mahmood was clearly visible. Smiling from ear to ear, he vigorously shook hands and nodded his head even though he did not understand one word of the Hebrew conversation. Majed was awaiting his discharge from Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel following cardiac surgery and more than two months of hospitalization. |
Within the context of Schneider Children's Bridge to Peace efforts, Majed's story is as incredible as it is encouraging. He is an Iraqi from the town of Kirkuk who, because of a congenital heart defect, spent most of his life at home. Tetralogy of Fallot consists of four different defects including a narrowed valve in the right ventricle and a hole between the chambers of the heart. Left untreated, about 70% of patients with this disorder die by the age of 10 years. Yet Majed survived, although he had enormous difficulty breathing properly.
It was due to the recent war in Iraq that new hope was brought to Majed. Following the victory in Kirkuk, members of the pro-Israeli Christian American-British "Shevet Ahim" (brotherhood society) organization, arrived in the town. Through the assistance of volunteers in the organization, contact was made with Prof. Bernardo Vidne, Director of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Schneider Children's, and a short while later, Majed and his father, Ra'uf, arrived in Israel via Jordan. "Majed is lucky to have lived till today", explained Prof. Vidne following the successful surgery. "We perform surgery to repair this defect in children up to the age of a year. It is impossible to live this way for a long time."
Through an interpreter, both father and son expressed high praise for the hospital. "I feel like a different man," gushed Majed. "Although we cannot talk about our experience here when we go home, everyone was wonderful," said Ra'uf. "It made no difference that we are Moslems. They treated us like royalty."
.jpg) | Standing amid all the commotion was another young Iraqi who had just arrived for treatment at Schneider Children's. Also sponsored by the Shevet Achim organization, Allen Georges, 20, was scheduled to undergo cardiac surgery later in the week. "I am a little afraid," he admitted, "but I need the operation. I had surgery 10 years ago, and now I need a second repair." Added his mother, Adiba, who accompanied him, "We are very happy to be here. Everyone is friendly and we feel very good." |
Under care at the same time in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit were two other patients, a 4-month-old infant, Ruth Germana, whose parents hail from Germany, but reside in Jordan, and 3 year-old Anastasia from Russia. Little Ruth had undergone surgery the day before to correct a near-closure of her aorta, while Anastasia was scheduled for cardiac catheterization to close a hole in her heart.
About 1% of all children are affected by cardiac disease, mostly congenital disorders. In most cases, only the intervention of sophisticated surgery can save the child's life. Schneider Children's is proud to have treated children from abroad - not only attesting to its high standards of medical excellence, but also to its worldwide renown.
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