“Your son is having open heart surgery”
That’s right. It’s time for the hole in Abdullah’s heart to be closed off and fixed. He’ll be 11 months by the time his surgery rolls around, which is September 1st. He is, alhumdu’lillah, doing really very well considering his condition. It’s almost like he doesn’t have any problem at all, actually.
But the reality is that he does have a problem. Not only does he have a large sized hole in his heart, his aorta is prolaptic and leaking. That’s the real issue, according to the cardiologist. We could’ve withheld surgery on Abdullah if he had just a hole in his heart, but the leaky valve is worth worrying about (finally, I guess…) So they want to go ahead and fix the valve and hole before it truly affects Abdullah’s health.
So some of you may be wondering, how does it feel to know your son is going to have open heart surgery? Well, like the title of this post suggests, it is something that no one wants to hear. I don’t even like saying surgery– I keep telling Abdullah he’s going to have sugary to become sweeter. Saying surgery, or rather OPEN-HEART surgery is scary… I can see the look of fear on people’s faces when I mention to them. They kind of… cringe.
And what’s not to cringe about? Someone, albeit a highly trained paid professional, is going to put a blade to my son’s chest, put his heart on by-pass, cut into it, and then fix him back up again. As amazing as the surgeon is (alhumdu’lillah) that’s still really scary!
And just because the surgeon is likely to be successful, doesn’t mean he will be successful. Allah is the One I am depending on to heal my son. But what if Allah chooses differently for Abdullah? Insha’Allah he’ll make it through the surgery, but those first few days after are even more critical. The nurses say to expect two days in the ICU and a couple of days in a separate recovery room. Will he heal? Will he have any complications? Will he be in pain? Will he be my same smiling little goodu? Will he be right back to his little antics at home, crawling under and over the furniture, keeping me on my toes? It is something I have to prepare myself for… again, these are all things that no one wants to hear.
Randomly came across this blog while googling Chicago-area mosques. Don’t believe we know one another (we’re both from Michigan – cool), but thought I’d chime in anyway as I have a one-year old son and I can identify with your feelings.
You mentioned that your son’s procedure was back in September, hope it went well. There have been huge technological advances in this area and I’ve been privileged to be exposed to them a bit through my work here in India. My company, St. Jude Medical, recently acquired AGA Medical, and their suite of products that address congenital heart defects. This is a huge focus-area for our industry moving forward, which is good news for others who may face similar situations.
Assalamu alaykum Ukhti. I’m preety much sure the surgery was quite a lng tym ago now. How is u’r son now? I hope he is in the best state of health insha Allah, and I hope the surgery went well insha Allah. May Allah continue to protect you and u’r family and keep u all safe insha Allah <3