Fatiyah.
Firstly, let me say THANK YOU to the many of you who have encouraged us here at New Hope with so many prayers and on-going financial giving towards the heart operations – we are so grateful to you. Father God has graciously been reminding us of HIS sovereignty and the need to trust HIM, even when we don’t understand what is going on, whether that be through finances for the operations or the surgeons changing their mind! PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY WITH US FOR THE REMAINING FUNDS TO COME IN FOR THESE SURGERIES.
Last Sunday, we took Fatiyah and her mum to Mulago for admittance and preparation for the surgery. We got Fatiya and her mum settled in and we were very grateful for the general kindness of a doctor and nurse, who helped answer the many questions we had. Over the next few days the medical and surgical team did some further tests on Fatiyah. Unknown to us at the time just prior to surgery, the surgical team were becoming more and more concerned about whether or not to proceed with the operation. Fatiyah has Apert’s Syndrome and this is not widely understood here in Uganda BUT the general consensus from the various professionals we had seen over a period of months was that due to the problem they saw with her heart, it would be wise to stabilise issues with her heart before any facial cranial surgery!
We were with Fatiyah and her mum when the lead heart surgeon and some of his team came and explained that due to a lack of consensus within his surgical team, they were going to postpone the operation. The main reason for this decision was that they were not able to confidently control her breathing both before and after her surgery, and they felt the risks too high (due to the Aperts Syndrome). We were all really taken back and Mum understandably very shaken (she had been preparing for this day many months!!!) but that said, I very much appreciated the lead surgeon’s honesty in the decision made and that he was sorry for what happened – he is a kind young man and I thank God for him. The team decided to bring the neurosurgeon in to help decide on the way forward for Fatiyah and it was with his advice that Fatiyah had a CT scan the following day. The neurosurgeon acknowledged that they didn’t have very much experience with Aperts
Shakira.
Syndrome at Mulago and that he would be consulting further afield. Little Fatiya has managed to cause quite a stir in what is a huge hospital and in those past few days she had a number of medical staff come to meet her and get to know her.
The resulting decision from the scan, discussions amongst doctors both at Mulago and Mbale is that Fatiyah should first and foremost have the facial cranial surgery completed. Their opinion is that her heart could cope with this surgery and that once she had made a good recovery the plans could be made to attempt the heart operation. The team of doctors at Mulago are now trying to connect us with the right people regarding the facial cranial surgery; we thank them for their help.
Thank you Father God for always being in control,
we often don’t understand why you allow
certain things to happen the way you do
but YOU alone are in control and we trust YOU
in your love and faithfulness towards Fatiya
THANK YOU FATHER
We will keep you updated on the way forward and encourage you to keep praying… Today, I have just returned from Mulago where I have dropped off Shakira and her family in preparation for her heart operation on Wednesday. I am assured that this operation won’t be cancelled and that the doctors are good to proceed – keep praying and we shall keep updating!
By Stu Dendy, Hope Family In-Charge