Tuesday, May 22, 2007 
Dear Friends and Family,
I just received an update from Sandy at the International Children’s Heart Foundation. As of Monday, May 21st, she has received seven donations for Hibrahim’s surgery and the total is $2,520! She also said the surgery will cost $5,000, so we are more than half way there! Thank you to everyone who has donated already. We only need $2,480 more and Hibrahim will get his surgery.
Some of you may be worried about what happens to donations for Hibrahim after our $5,000 goal is met. Sandy will let me know and I will send out an update ASAP once our goal is met. Any money donated beyond $5,000 will go toward the foundation’s regular operations. They have 20 medical missions planned for the 2007-2008 fiscal year, and a goal to operate on over 400 children. So, be sure that even if your money doesn’t go toward Hibrahim’s surgery, it will still go to an exceptional cause.
Please keep the donations coming, we aren’t quite there yet. See the email below for directions on how to donate, and don’t forget to note in the comments section that your donation is for Mohammad Hibrahim Amiri. Thank you again everyone.
By the way, attached are a few new pictures of Hibrahim and his father Rahim.
Jobe
Friday, May 25, 2007
Hi everyone,
I just got a new update from Sandy at the International Children’s Heart Foundation. We now have 15 donations for Hibrahim totaling $3,770. We’re doing great as we only have $1,230 left to reach our $5,000 goal. But, we’re not quite done so, if you’ve been planning on donating, but you to procrastinate like me, it only takes about 10 minutes. Just go click on the link below and donate as little or as much as you like:
www.BabyHeart.org
On the home page, click “make a donation”.
On the next page, click “please click here to be transferred to a safe and secure donation form”.
Now, just follow the directions on the donation form, but remember to add Mohammad Hibrahim Amiri in the comments box.
Mail in donations are welcome and can be sent to:
International Children’s Heart Foundation
1750 Madison Avenue, Suite 100
Memphis, TN, 38104
Make checks payable to the International Children’s Heart Foundation.
Thanks everyone, we’re doing great and we’re almost done.
Jobe
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Hi Everyone,
I have outstanding news. Sandy just sent me an update and as of Tuesday, May 29, she has received 30 donations for a total of $5,645!!! Hibrahim’s surgery is officially paid for at the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology in Rawalpindi. The feeling is overwhelming. Next month, thanks to your donations, a family who has never left Afghanistan will make a three day trip to Pakistan that will save their only son’s life. I don’t know the exact date of the surgery yet, but as soon as I do, I will help them finalize their travel arrangements. And, I’ll be sure to keep everyone up to date on all the developments. Thank you all so much for your generosity.
Jobe
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Hi Everyone,
I haven’t had any news for the past couple of weeks, but the last few days have been pretty eventful. Rahim and family started their trip yesterday (Wednesday). A couple of days before they left, however, Rahim’s wife, Salima, became very ill. She was so ill we were worried about her ability to make the trip. Rahim was preparing himself to go alone, until we found out that Salima is pregnant and she has terrible morning sickness. It was a relief, but she’s so bad that we still needed to adjust the plan. So, it was decided we should try to send Salima’s brother, to help take care of her if needed. That caused some problems with the visa but, long story short, my interpreter knows someone at the Pakistan Embassy and was able to get it worked out.
The first part of the trip was a short flight from Mazar-e Sharif to Kabul, where we ran into our first problem of the actual trip. We sent them with more than enough money, based on information we were able to get. We were never able to talk with anyone who actually worked for the airline, but we had spoken with a few people who had recently flown from Kabul to Islamabad. Everyone said the tickets were less than $200. When they got to the airport in Kabul, they called and told us that the agent for the Pakistani airline was charging them $2000, and that didn’t even include the return flight. Obviously, the agent saw their desperate situation and was trying to rip them off, but that’s a way of life here and there wasn’t much we could do. I told them they should rent a car, which they did. They called yesterday evening to say they were already in Jalalabad (not far from the boarder) and made me feel much better by saying they had a very nice and comfortable taxi.
This morning they called to say they were in Pakistan, and this afternoon they called to say they had already met up with Dr. Kamal Saleem (one of the surgeons at the Armed Forces Medical Institute). Dr. Saleem was helping them find a hotel for the night and said he would start taking cardiograms in the morning. Dr. Novick and the rest of the team from the US are scheduled to arrive on Saturday. With Dr. Saleem getting a head start with the tests, there should be no problem with getting the procedure done on Monday. This will maximize Hibrahim’s recovery time under the observation of the US team, which is a very good thing.
So, Monday should be the day and, with the time difference, it will happen while most of you are sleeping. When you wake up, Hibrahim should be in recovery. I’ll let you know more as soon as I know more. Thanks again everyone!
Jobe
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Hi Everyone,
The surgery has been postponed until Friday. Below is the note that Dr. Novick (The Surgeon from the American team who is going to do the operation) sent me…
Jobe:
Yes, the team arrived as scheduled on Sunday morning and we saw the child that afternoon. Surgery is scheduled for Friday, however that will depend upon how the child is at that time. He came with changes in his blood suggestive of an infection, was placed on antibiotics and we are repeating studies on Wednesday, if everything is fine and the child does not have a fever we will proceed on Friday. I think chances are quite good for survival.
WNovick
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Hi Everyone,
Sorry for the delay in getting this out but we’ve had some communication blackouts recently (I actually wrote this yesterday when the network came online long enough for me to receive a couple messages from Dr. Novick, but it went down again before I had a chance to send it). I know some of you are as anxious as I was to find out how the surgery went. Well, our network just came up and I logged on to find two messages from Dr. Novick. He said everything went very smoothly, Hibrahim did great, and he sent me these two pictures. When Rahim gets back, I’ll send out more pictures (whatever he took with my camera).
Dr Novick also told me that they just finished up on another child today, this one was from Iraq. The International Children’s Heart Foundation is an incredible organization doing extraordinary work all over the world. In fact, they are doing another mission to Rawalpindi in September, and they are will be in Kabul, Afghanistan, early next year. Any time you have extra money and feel like being charitable, www.BabyHeart.org is a great place to go.
To those of you who helped by spreading the word or donating your own money, I will never be able to thank you enough. You all did a truly wonderful thing and you should be very proud of yourselves. I feel as good right now as when my own son’s surgery was successful six years ago. Jobe has grown into a happy, healthy 6 year old, and because of you all, Hibrahim will get to do the same.
Jobe
Dear Friends and Family,
I just received an update from Sandy at the International Children’s Heart Foundation. As of Monday, May 21st, she has received seven donations for Hibrahim’s surgery and the total is $2,520! She also said the surgery will cost $5,000, so we are more than half way there! Thank you to everyone who has donated already. We only need $2,480 more and Hibrahim will get his surgery.
Some of you may be worried about what happens to donations for Hibrahim after our $5,000 goal is met. Sandy will let me know and I will send out an update ASAP once our goal is met. Any money donated beyond $5,000 will go toward the foundation’s regular operations. They have 20 medical missions planned for the 2007-2008 fiscal year, and a goal to operate on over 400 children. So, be sure that even if your money doesn’t go toward Hibrahim’s surgery, it will still go to an exceptional cause.
Please keep the donations coming, we aren’t quite there yet. See the email below for directions on how to donate, and don’t forget to note in the comments section that your donation is for Mohammad Hibrahim Amiri. Thank you again everyone.
By the way, attached are a few new pictures of Hibrahim and his father Rahim.
Jobe
Friday, May 25, 2007
Hi everyone,
I just got a new update from Sandy at the International Children’s Heart Foundation. We now have 15 donations for Hibrahim totaling $3,770. We’re doing great as we only have $1,230 left to reach our $5,000 goal. But, we’re not quite done so, if you’ve been planning on donating, but you to procrastinate like me, it only takes about 10 minutes. Just go click on the link below and donate as little or as much as you like:
www.BabyHeart.org
On the home page, click “make a donation”.
On the next page, click “please click here to be transferred to a safe and secure donation form”.
Now, just follow the directions on the donation form, but remember to add Mohammad Hibrahim Amiri in the comments box.
Mail in donations are welcome and can be sent to:
International Children’s Heart Foundation
1750 Madison Avenue, Suite 100
Memphis, TN, 38104
Make checks payable to the International Children’s Heart Foundation.
Thanks everyone, we’re doing great and we’re almost done.
Jobe
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Hi Everyone,
I have outstanding news. Sandy just sent me an update and as of Tuesday, May 29, she has received 30 donations for a total of $5,645!!! Hibrahim’s surgery is officially paid for at the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology in Rawalpindi. The feeling is overwhelming. Next month, thanks to your donations, a family who has never left Afghanistan will make a three day trip to Pakistan that will save their only son’s life. I don’t know the exact date of the surgery yet, but as soon as I do, I will help them finalize their travel arrangements. And, I’ll be sure to keep everyone up to date on all the developments. Thank you all so much for your generosity.
Jobe
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Hi Everyone,
I haven’t had any news for the past couple of weeks, but the last few days have been pretty eventful. Rahim and family started their trip yesterday (Wednesday). A couple of days before they left, however, Rahim’s wife, Salima, became very ill. She was so ill we were worried about her ability to make the trip. Rahim was preparing himself to go alone, until we found out that Salima is pregnant and she has terrible morning sickness. It was a relief, but she’s so bad that we still needed to adjust the plan. So, it was decided we should try to send Salima’s brother, to help take care of her if needed. That caused some problems with the visa but, long story short, my interpreter knows someone at the Pakistan Embassy and was able to get it worked out.
The first part of the trip was a short flight from Mazar-e Sharif to Kabul, where we ran into our first problem of the actual trip. We sent them with more than enough money, based on information we were able to get. We were never able to talk with anyone who actually worked for the airline, but we had spoken with a few people who had recently flown from Kabul to Islamabad. Everyone said the tickets were less than $200. When they got to the airport in Kabul, they called and told us that the agent for the Pakistani airline was charging them $2000, and that didn’t even include the return flight. Obviously, the agent saw their desperate situation and was trying to rip them off, but that’s a way of life here and there wasn’t much we could do. I told them they should rent a car, which they did. They called yesterday evening to say they were already in Jalalabad (not far from the boarder) and made me feel much better by saying they had a very nice and comfortable taxi.
This morning they called to say they were in Pakistan, and this afternoon they called to say they had already met up with Dr. Kamal Saleem (one of the surgeons at the Armed Forces Medical Institute). Dr. Saleem was helping them find a hotel for the night and said he would start taking cardiograms in the morning. Dr. Novick and the rest of the team from the US are scheduled to arrive on Saturday. With Dr. Saleem getting a head start with the tests, there should be no problem with getting the procedure done on Monday. This will maximize Hibrahim’s recovery time under the observation of the US team, which is a very good thing.
So, Monday should be the day and, with the time difference, it will happen while most of you are sleeping. When you wake up, Hibrahim should be in recovery. I’ll let you know more as soon as I know more. Thanks again everyone!
Jobe
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Hi Everyone,
The surgery has been postponed until Friday. Below is the note that Dr. Novick (The Surgeon from the American team who is going to do the operation) sent me…
Jobe:
Yes, the team arrived as scheduled on Sunday morning and we saw the child that afternoon. Surgery is scheduled for Friday, however that will depend upon how the child is at that time. He came with changes in his blood suggestive of an infection, was placed on antibiotics and we are repeating studies on Wednesday, if everything is fine and the child does not have a fever we will proceed on Friday. I think chances are quite good for survival.
WNovick
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Hi Everyone,
Sorry for the delay in getting this out but we’ve had some communication blackouts recently (I actually wrote this yesterday when the network came online long enough for me to receive a couple messages from Dr. Novick, but it went down again before I had a chance to send it). I know some of you are as anxious as I was to find out how the surgery went. Well, our network just came up and I logged on to find two messages from Dr. Novick. He said everything went very smoothly, Hibrahim did great, and he sent me these two pictures. When Rahim gets back, I’ll send out more pictures (whatever he took with my camera).
Dr Novick also told me that they just finished up on another child today, this one was from Iraq. The International Children’s Heart Foundation is an incredible organization doing extraordinary work all over the world. In fact, they are doing another mission to Rawalpindi in September, and they are will be in Kabul, Afghanistan, early next year. Any time you have extra money and feel like being charitable, www.BabyHeart.org is a great place to go.
To those of you who helped by spreading the word or donating your own money, I will never be able to thank you enough. You all did a truly wonderful thing and you should be very proud of yourselves. I feel as good right now as when my own son’s surgery was successful six years ago. Jobe has grown into a happy, healthy 6 year old, and because of you all, Hibrahim will get to do the same.
Jobe
