Mama Muqadam (Zena) came with her young son Muqadam to Israel for heart treatment, leaving her daughter and husband in Tanzania as well as and putting her career as a teacher on hold to make sure her son got the life-saving treatment he needed.
When she arrived in Israel she was faced with a lot of challenges with her son’s health, he endured many physical hardships that the medical team at Wolfson did their best to treat and take care of.
Her perseverance and strength to fight for her son, her passion to learn all she could to take care of him when he returned was inspiring to everyone who met her and 'Muqi.'
The relationships she built with the staff, volunteer, and other mothers were powerful beyond belief. She was there for so many other mothers and children, and remains caring and patient even in the hardest of moments. Mama Muqadam is a most-dedicated mother, who continues to do all she can to fight for her son's wellbeing and his future.
We were lucky to recently see her back home in Tanzania, greeting one another with the familiarity of family.
Husan, or Husanboy as he’s nicknamed, is a 2-year-old boy from Uzbekistan. Husan lives in Oq-Yor village in the province of Andijan, with his mother, father, and twin brother in his father’s family home. Husan was diagnosed with Tetralogy of Fallot, a type of congenital heart disease that is classified by a combination of four heart defects that commonly occur together, at birth. Due to the severity of Husan’s case, his family was encouraged to seek care in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. It was then that Husan’s grandfather took Husan on a more-than-5 hour car ride to Tashkent to evaluate the child. Luckily, Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Health had already been working hand in hand with Israel’s ambassador to Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in Tashkent. Amb. Eduard Shapira is a champion of Save a Child’s Heart and helped coordinate the first case that our team treated from Tajikistan - our 58th country, Motivated by that success, Amb.
Husan was attached at the hip to his mother. At first shy, and unable to communicate, Mama Husan quickly became a warm and welcoming member of the Children’s Home. Although she did not share the same language, she signaled her gratitude and care with smiles, laughs, and gestures. Every day, of course, she would call home to Husan’s father and twin brother and although the journey was challenging, in light of Husan’s amazing recovery, Husan’s mother shared with us: “I am so glad to be here, especially for the warm welcome we received. I am very grateful to all of you for saving my son’s life. I have no words to express my gratitude.”
