Amman Mission #36 Day 3

It was a great day here in Amman! Mohammed was happy to finally get to drink some water. We took out his CVL and arterial line first thing this morning— which was a group effort as you can see! He’s such a wild man!

Lookin’ good, Mohammed!

He’s happiest when he’s drinking water and no nurses are bothering him

All hands on deck to hold this wild man down to de-line

Masah had a good night on the ventilator! We were able to extubate her first thing this morning. She did give us a little bit of a scare initially after pulling the breathing the tube— she was not ventilating well and was quite blue and limp. After a dose of narcan to reverse her sedation medication and some racemic epi to help her airway inflammation— she was looking MUCH better!

Getting ready to pull the breathing tube

Dr. Johansen and Masah post-extubation

Looking MUCH better and settling out on her high-flow! Still having quite a bit of hypertension

Kelly and Masah!

She will stay in the ICU on a lasix drip to help her pee and get some extra fluid off of her lungs. After making sure our two surgeries from yesterday were doing well— it was time to round on our cases from Day 1!

Sweet Abd transferred to the floor today! He was looking so cute per usual

The sweetest boy with the sweetest family. He should get his chest tube out this afternoon!

Mirna also transferred to the floor as well— but not before she slapped Dr Yabrodi on the hand and then gave him a thumbs down! 😂 She is such a character. We pulled her chest tube and she is feeling much better now!

Our four kids in the ICU were doing well— which means it’s time for our next two cases of the day!

Dr. Turrentine and Kelly scrubbing in for our first case of the day

Roaya is prepped and ready to go!

Our first case of the day was Ahmad Hassan Aloush from Syria 🇸🇾. We know him quite well, considering Dr. Turrentine repaired his heart back in March of 2020! Ahmad and his family travelled all the way to Indianapolis 3.5 years ago to get his first heart surgery. He is such a goofy kid!

Ahmad was born with an RVOTO and pulmonary stenosis – an obstruction that makes it difficult for blood to leave the right ventricle and get to the lungs, as well as a VSD (a hole in the bottom two chambers of the heart).

Today, Dr. Turrentine did an RV-PA plasty and patched Ahmad’s VSD. Ahmad’s did have to go on bypass twice to correct some bleeding issues, but once that was fixed, he returned to the ICU doing very well!

Getting a Chest X-ray upon arrival to the unit— has a small effusion.

Immediately returning to the ICU with Dr. Turrentine

Ahmad was extubated within an hour of being back on the floor! Keeping an eye out for any arrhythmias he may have but otherwise hoping for a restful night!

Looking good! Can’t wait to see him be his normal crazy self again.

Becca and Michael calculating our homemade precedex infusion 😂

Heather and Dr T got a special visit from a former patient, Joud! ❤️

Our second case of the day was Farah Amer Salman of Jordan 🇯🇴.

Say cheese!

Miyessar, another former patient, paid T a surprise visit as well! She brought him the most beautiful flowers!

Farah has the same defect as Mohammed from yesterday— a partial AVC! Although this defect is commonly associated with Down Syndrome, it isn’t always— which is the case for Farah.

Farah and her dad

Back from OR, still a little sleepy

Extubated on no drips!

Farah is doing so well! We’re anticipating a good night from her.

It was a packed day at the hospital today and should be again tomorrow. The days fly by and these kids keep us busy. We are so thankful to be here and are truly indebted to our many donors that make this trip possible and give these kids a new lease on life.

A sneak peek at one of our patients for tomorrow! 🥹