Lily and I went to Sheba Hospital and spent 13 hours there today. Brwa from Kurdistan had a surgery that lasted nearly 8 hours and ended in a little complication. While his mother and I were waiting right outside the operation room, another child from Kurdistan passed away after nearly a month of struggle for life in Sheba ICU. It was a very emotional day for all of us.

I could feel the pain Brwa’s mother watching her little one lying on the bed hooked with all kinds of tubes. But I do not know Kurdish, there is no way for me to comfort her with words. The hospital is a place of waiting. She waited for the surgery to be done, for the doctor’s briefing, for her to finally see the baby, for another post-surgery CT scan due to the complication, for the result to come… Usually you have your spouse with you in this setting, but these mothers are alone in a foreign country, because only one parent is financially supported. I could not do anything but was there right beside her and praying hard. When she prayed to Allah on the floor, I prayed to God beside her on the floor. When she was calling Allah’s name crying, I prayed to God holding her shoulder. We prayed, watching the doctor wearing kippa doing his best on little Brwa in ICU.

When I went back to Shevet house in Ashdod, it was almost 10 pm. When I opened the door, Amilie was waiting in the living room and came up to hug me. She said, “It was a long day. You must be tired.” God uses people to comfort people. Praise the name of the Lord.