A Long Hard Road with a Good Good End

Two of the most miraculous stories since I’ve been here concluded last week, both with happy endings.

Mohammed Majib, a child rejected from hospitals in Iraq, Turkey, Iran, and even one hospital in Israel because the surgery he needed was “impossible,” went home last week completely healed. Mohammed’s heart worked by precariously balancing two coexisting heart problems, tipping the scales in either direction meant immediate death. One problem was a “transposition,” basically that his heart worked in reverse, pumping blood the wrong direction, a fatal condition in its own right if not reversed in infancy. But Mohammed also had a very large hole in the middle of his heart, and it was this hole that allowed the blood to mix (normally a very bad thing) sufficiently, that in spite of his heart working in the wrong direction, it still was able to limp along. There was no knowing how long his heart would last in this condition, but all signs pointed to not long. A particularly bold and compassionate surgeon who we have counted on in the past for these sorts of dangerous surgeries said he would take the case. The surgeon said that he believed surgery was possible, perhaps one now and another surgery one year later to complete the necessary procedures. Mohammed’s surgery was put off a few times because of the immensity and danger involved, and this played on the minds of both Mohammed and his father, now having spent months away from home began to doubt if they really should have come, if the risk was worth it.



After a lot of encouraging, both in the direction Mohammed and his father, and toward the surgeon, the first surgery took place and was a complete success. Not only was the first surgery a success, but the 9-year-old’s body was strong enough to do the second surgery less than a week later! After some Gortex, a piece of cow heart, and some careful reconstruction Mohammed was on the road to recovery, and less than a month after was going home!

Akram’s story, if you have been following the blog, has been an amazing one which has finally reached its beautiful conclusion. After more than a year and a half of being away from home because of his physical ailments, he is finally with his family again. After a year of tuberculosis treatment, a lung surgery, and an open-heart surgery, Akram bears many scars, but through them, a new life. Were it not for these very illnesses, Akram would never have met the Lord and understood Him in a personal way that many wouldn’t willingly undergo.


Strong bonds were built between Mohammed and I, and with his father as well. Akram and I shared a friendship that I pray will continue; I hope that I was able to demonstrate some shadow of an example of what it means to live out the teachings of Jesus. It’s very easy to lose this in the midst of the event of the surgery itself, but it was the day to day living together, loving one another, and sharing everything that the heart of a different sort is moved. When we all finally said goodbye it was painful and at the same time an incredible sense of accomplishment surrounded it. I’m certain the same conflicting feelings passed through Akram, his mother, and Mohammed and his father; each moved to tears during our goodbye but certainly so excited to return home.

For more info, pictures, and video of their stories, see their final blogs at these links: Akram and Mohammed