Recognizing that congenital heart disease requires lifelong care, Novick Cardiac Alliance continues to return to our partner sites multiple times per year over several years, because of children like Ahmed. Dr. Novick first met Ahmed in 2010, when he was 5 years old. Ahmed was born in Nasiriyah, Iraq with a complex heart defect. Similar …
BBC World Service interviewed Dr. Novick regarding the world the Novick Cardiac Alliance is doing in Libya.
Jordan Campbell – A writer and filmmaker travelled with us to Tobruk, Libya. His story was recently published in National Geographic Adventure. You can read the whole article below. With your help, we can continue to support our projects in countries like Libya.
Narjis was born in Baghdad, Iraq in October 2016. When she was about two weeks old, her parents Akar and Nor Maseer noticed she was breathing fast. They took her to the doctor and an echocardiogram showed she had two holes in her heart, an atrial septal defect and ventricular septal defect. The doctor gave …
Hasen sits in his grandmother’s arms, bored and making a terrible fuss. “He was born with three holes in his heart.” His grandmother tells us what we’ve already seen on the ultrasound scan. She was tired, weary. The strain of life and her grandson’s heart problems are nearly too much to bear. Hasen was supposed …
Leaning in—this is the common posture we see in every hospital where we work. There are always parents leaning in toward their children, either out of concern or the desire to comfort. But just as often we find ourselves leaning in toward patients, providing the acute care they need. Working beside local teams, we lean …
We’ve Made Amazing Progress, And We’ll Lean In To Do Even More In 2017 Read More »
Jobs disappeared. That’s what drove Yaqin’s family from Mosul. It was 2014 and the early days of ISIS in the city. Life was beginning to get difficult—the rules for living changed, tightened, but it was still manageable, except for the fact that paid work became scarce. Yaqin’s father couldn’t support his family, so they made …
She Escaped ISIS, Now She Survived A Life-Threatening Heart Defect Read More »
Every mom’s heart aches when her child is sick. It’s so hard to see them suffer and not know what’s going on, or how to help. For some moms it’s extra hard. When Yossef came down with the flu at two months old, he was taken to see a doctor. The doctor diagnosed not only …
How You Ended A Mother’s Desperate Search For Surgery Read More »
When Falah closes his eyes, he sees himself high above the clouds, in the cockpit of a fighter jet. When he imagines his future self, he is a pilot who helps to defend his country from the forces which seek to destroy. But today Falah is laying in his hospital bed recovering from the surgery …
Before Surgery, Falah Was Falling Behind—Not Anymore Read More »
Sometimes living takes you by surprise. Zahraa was in the step-down unit when we asked what her hopes are for the future. Today is just the first day after her surgery, but she is already well enough to smile at silly jokes. She is relaxed in her bed, and turned down the pain medication our …
