Heart, Nerves, Hope

We were all kept on our toes today .. nerves and tears took over a greater part of our day .. at 9am this morning my 12 yr old cousin Omar went into surgery to get his heart fixed. An operation that usually took two hours went on for four which caused anxiety among us. From what i was told the procedure involved inserting a small camera on one of his thigh and some tubing and razor on another and manouvering it to his heart - the thought of it is scary and gets you all goosebumpy. The whole idea of the surgery is to insert a balloon in his heart and to cut through the clogged hole that is blocking the valve.

My cousin was born with a heart defect and doctors give him only up to his teens to live. One side of his heart is bigger than the other which makes the pumping process tedious. Strenous excercises or normal activities that kids usual can do would only make him turn blue and abnormal pulpatations. At 4 yrs old he had a balloon put into his heart .. now 8 years later another had to be put in only this time one of his arteries had to be cut open to allow for it pump..... His childhood is far from normal - sweets and chocolates he can only take in moderation and sometimes not at all. His activities are limited and when he does go beyond what he can - he throws up and perspires and turns blue .. when he gets that way he usually goes to a corner and keeps quiet and then we know that he is in pain .. its heart breaking to see him go through that ...

He knows that he is sick and he often questions why he is sick ... what can you tell him so that things make sense? But in recent years he has managed to enjoy his chidlhood as much as he can though due to his condition he is put in special classes and instead of being in primary six for his age he is two years down .. His attention span is short but none the less he has come up on the top of his class and we have all seen him grow up from a little boy to a pre teen . He was so excited when he got his identification card ( kids who reach 12 gets an identification card or ic). This year we saw his first crush which he wrote about in his journal - just how sweet is that ... :) ..

The reality of his condition weighs on everyones minds - but the doctors are not God and we never knwo he just might live beyond his teenage years - always good to have faith and hope ..

Todays surgery was prompted by a trip to a specialist hospital in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia about three days ago a trip which should have been done a few months ago but due to all thats been happening it was being put off until this week when his pulpatations were worst than usual .. Upon examining him, the doctors called for an immediate surgery seeing that one of the holes in his heart is clogged and if he didnt have that surgery he might not survive ....

It all came as a shock to us and we were obviously kept on our toes. Being where we are all we can do is pray. I cant even began to imagine what his parents must be feeling and his siblings too. When he was in the operating room - and it went longer than usual my aunt felt really uneasy - had a feeling that something bad was going to happen - she immediately called my grandma's house and ask everyone to say a special prayer for him - she was crying and this got my mom and everyone else crying too -.. not knowing what is happening if he is going to make it out or not .. everyones nerves was on overload ..

At about 1pm - by the grace of God he came out of the operating theatre - the operation was a success ... Thank God! We all breathe a sigh of relief - .. when i last spoke to my aunt she said everything went well and he is now resting - drowsy from the anesticia i think .. We were really thankful. Right now they are waiting for the doctor to check on him and see if he needs to stay in the hospital for a few more days ..

Fasting month does come with its tests and makes you appreciate the ones you love even more .. If anything this brought the family even closer together .. For now all we can do for him is pray and ask God for a permanent cure :).... And for his parents to be given strength and courage to face the days that come because i have seen how his condition has stressed them out especially my aunt - in between worrying and caring for him . She has so much strength - a force to be reckon with ..

We kept this from my grandmother because of her health & well being. My grandmother has recovered pretty well and she remembers and notices things more than usual. So keeping this away from here was for her own benefit so she wont worry because she has a tendency to worry alot and this could cause her stress and stroke to come back and thats the last thing we need...

Please say a prayer for him and for the family with hope that he recovers soon and give everyone strength and courage to face the coming days and that this little boy gets to enjoy his life like normal kids do ..........