Children’s Hospital International Services

Click on the image above to view a New York Times story about Amenah’s return to Iraq.

Since arriving home in Haditha, Iraq, the attention toward Amenah Al-Bayati’s heartwarming story has intensified even further. The New York Times article (above) included moving video of Maj. Kevin Jarrard as he took part in a celebration to welcome Amenah home to her home town. Maj. Jarrard said as a father, it meant a lot to see Amenah come home healthy and be reunited with her siblings and father. He also said in the last several weeks he had become friends with Amenah’s father, whose extended family includes several brothers who have been arrested and jailed for insurgent activities. Jarrard, who has repeatedly said that Amenah couldn’t help who her father is, says now the two have bonded over family and a desire to help the community in Haditha.

Here are some comments Maj. Jarrard sent in from Iraq:

Flew to International Airport via Ch-53 helicopter and C-130 aircraft with Amina’s father this afternoon.  Blackwater Worldwide escorted mother and Amina from a Royal Jordanian aircraft to the ramp of the C-130.  Following a joyful and tearful reunion, we flew back to Haditha via C-130 and MV-22 Osprey.  There was a large welcome home turnout both at the landing zone and at the family home.  The final leg will be my wife’s return travel to the United States tomorrow.  She and Glenn Susskind escorted mother and Amina as far as Amman, Jordan. They are being taken care of in Amman once again by Blackwater Worldwide.

Words are inadequate to describe my thankfulness to all of you for your roles in this mission.  If you have never previously witnessed a miracle – now you have. Semper Fidelis and God Bless,

Kevin Jarrard
Major, USMCR
LIMA Company, TF 3/23 

Below is an article from Maj. Jarrard’s hometown newspaper. Click here to read the full story.

 The aunt of Marine Maj. Kevin Jarrard — who first befriended Amenah’s family in Haditha and later started the ball rolling on “Operation Amina”– Janet Jarrard, is as close to the action surrounding Amenah’s return trip as anyone here in Nashville. She gave us a little bit of insight today, saying that she first heard Amenah’s return was imminent on Monday night. 

“Kevin’s wife, Kelly, called me and said they were getting ready to go. Kelly had volunteered to go and accompany Amenah and Maha on the trip back,” Jarrard said. When Kelly told me they would leave Wednesday, I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, they are going back so fast.’ But Maha was so anxious to get back home.” 

Everyone who came to know Maha and Amenah wanted so much for them to get back home, to be able to truly relax and share this new gift of life with the rest of Amenah’s family. But there was one long last trip to complete. 

“The return trip was so much easier because Amenah is so healthy now,” Jarrard said. In fact, Jarrard suspects this trip might have been toughest for Kelly, who often gets air sick. “She said it was great that she had Amenah to focus on during the trip, because she was distracted from getting airsick,” Jarrard said. 

Kelly and a gentleman named Glenn (whose last name escapes Jarrard right now), a health care worker who accompanied the family from Iraq to Nashville, would just be travel buddies for Amenah and Maha this time around. There was no need for oxygen, no need for regular vital sign checks. This time keeping Amenah entertained for the long flights would be the goal, rather than keeping her quiet to preserve precious oxygen reserves. 

What we know is that at about 1 p.m. central time on Wednesday, March 5, Amenah and Maha went to the Nashville airport for the first leg of a journey that would take her to Amman, Jordan, and ultimately back over the border into Iraq. We know that the same folks involved in getting her here, got her back; namely the U.S. Military and Blackwater Security. We also know that this trip was shortened significantly because there was some form of air travel from Jordan to Haditha worked out, rather than the long trip by bus made from the Iraqi border the first time. 

“The disappointing thing was that Kevin wouldn’t be there when Amenah and Maha got back home. Kevin’s unit had moved and the communications had changed, so he would not be able to see them,” Jarrard said. 

Jarrard summed up in her words what many are feeling about the experience: “This whole journey has been so humbling. The generosity and concern and love Amenah experienced while here were inspiring. There are people who seek out this type of rescue every day as part of their jobs, so to personally be able to be even a small part of an effort to save a life has been a gift. But the best part is now Amenah gets to go home and be a little girl.” Amenah should be home by now. We hope she is being covered in hugs and love by her father, two sisters and brother. We are grateful they were willing to have enough blind trust to let us have her, and love her for a short and very fulfilling time.   

A little more than two weeks after her surgery, Amenah came back for a final check-up at the Children’s Hospital. Most of the local media showed up to see her get the news that she was cleared to return home. Amenah had an echo cardiogram, much like an ultrasound of her chest, to make sure the blood flow in her heart was still running through the right pipes at the right rate—it was. Then Christian checked out the sound of her heart, checked out her scar for any signs of infections or problems—none were found.

Maha, Amenah’s mother, got to hear the words she had waited for… Amenah was fine, and ready to return home with a heart healthy enough to take her through a long and productive life. There was laughing and celebration when Christian determined nothing medical in nature would delay the trip back home, yet all of those in the room also knew that the life Amenah and Maha will return to is a dangerous one. Residents of Haditha, Iraq must live in fear of roadside, or suicide bombs, Iraqi and American troops patrol regularly, the markets are slim and resources scarce. Still, it is home. It is where Amenah’s father, two older sisters and brother wait for Amenah and Maha to return.

World Relief social worker, Deanna Dolan, says she will be sad to see Amenah and Maha leave, but also said that the impact on the perceptions of America in the community in Haditha would be far reaching. “It’s going to spread from  Amenah and Maha to her family and from there… there’s no telling,” she said.

Amenah was discharged from the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt on Friday, February 15, just four days after a complex open heart procedure. In the words of her surgeon, Karla Christian, “It could not have gone better.” Now she will rest up at the Bergers’ farm in Leiper’s Fork along with her friends from Grace Chapel and World Relief as plans are made to get Amenah and her mother, Maha, back home to Haditha, Iraq.

Amenah continues to do well with her host family in Leiper’s Fork. She is coming back in to the hospital for a checkup today, and is scheduled for her last visit on March 3. If all checks out she will be cleared to head back home.

Now, planning for round two begins for an amazing– if unlikely– combination of family, friends, military personnel and contacts with helpful corporations like Blackwater security. The goal is to get Amenah and Maha back to the Middle East and then safely over the border into Iraq… no small task. As it did when this adventure began, the planning begins with Maj. Kevin Jarrard who is stationed in Iraq with the Marines. He sent this short note a couple of days ago when those who are interested in sending donations to help pay for the trip home asked who would be arranging things.

Please forgive my lack of communication lately. Maha’s family eagerly awaits her return. I will plan the return trip later this week. I will ask Dr. Nadeau to talk to Dr. Christian to set a set a return date based on Amenha’s progress. Based on what we know right now, we are planning on no later than March 15.

There is still some money left in the BB&T Amina Fund and I think that Grace Chapel has been taking donations as well. Once the plan is in place, I will have a more accurate estimate of costs. Trip to Nashville cost $15,000 or so.

We join all the folks there in rejoicing over the good news so far. I owe everyone many planning details to follow in a day or two.

Semper Fidelis,

Major Jarrard

Amenah has become quite a star! Click on the image above to see the latest story that aired on NBC Nightly News on Feb. 14. 

At about 1:00 p.m. today, 2-year-old Amenah Al-Bayati left the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt to begin life anew. With a nicely patched-up set of ’pipes’ moving well-oxygenated blood to her little heart, she should be able to grow big and strong in her home in Iraq.The people who surround Amenah and her mother, Maha Mohammed Al-Sumaidaie, worry that the life she must return to is full of the danger that comes with a nation at war, but everyone knows that Iraq is home. Maha cannot wait to return to Amenah’s father, two brothers and sister.  

Amenah’s recovery has been excellent. She has been awake, blowing kisses to the nurses and giving that “princess wave” to all who come by to see her. Maha, Amenah’s mother, is exhausted– emotionally and physically– but is very happy her daughter is now “pink” and has a bright future ahead of her.

The Grace Chapel host family, Pastor Steve and Sara Berger, are anxious to bring Amenah and her mother back to their home in Leiper’s Fork and were happy to hear if her recovery continues at this pace, she may be home this weekend!

We have kept cameras away since surgery day, but will have photos as soon as Amenah feels more like herself. The image below shows what Amenah’s heart anatomy was before her surgery.

This morning at 9 a.m. central time, Amenah looked great. She is resting with Maha at her bedside in the Pediatric Critical Care Unit, but many of the tubes and wires that were attached to her just after surgery have now been removed.

View a slideshow of yesterday’s surgery by clicking on the image below.

At a press conference today,  Pediatric heart surgeon Karla Christian, M.D. said “It went as well as we could have hoped it to. There were no complications and although it was a technically complex operation, she did just great.”

When asked about her prognosis for the future, Christian said “This is a rare condition and we chose the operation that was best for her, keeping in mind that when she returns to Iraq, she will not have access to a cardiologist. We decided to do an operation that would improve her oxygenation, but would leave her heart functioning as a single pumping chamber— which she has been living with since birth. We would expect, if all goes well, that she will need no further operation. The best part is she has gone from oxygenation levels in the 60’s or lower to up in the 90’s.”

Pink fingers, toes and lips. Those were the things 2-year-old Amenah Al-Bayati’s mother noticed when she saw her daughter for the first time after Amenah’s open heart surgery today.

The three-hour surgery involved redirecting blood from Amenah’s heart to her lungs in order to supply the toddler with better oxygen to the rest of her body. By 11 a.m. the surgical team was able to report to Amenah’s mother that surgery was complete and had gone well.

“The surgery went well. We redirected the veins of her heart in a procedure called a bi-directional Glenn Shunt,” said Karla Christian, M.D., associate professor of Cardiac Surgery. “Her heart already looks much happier. It is pumping very well, and her oxygenation percentages to her fingers and toes went from 60 percent and 70 percent before surgery to more than 90 percent after.”

When Christian emerged from the operating room, Mohammed Al-Sumaidaie gave her a big hug and thanked her many times.

“I cannot describe how I am feeling,” said Amenah’s mother, Maha Mohammed Al-Sumaidaie. “I didn’t even imagine this could happen, thank goodness for everything, and I thank God for all those who have helped.”

After surgery, Amenah was taken to the Pediatric Critical Care Unit where she will recover for the next several days. She will remain on a ventilator for several hours, requiring intensive care support for the first 24 to 48 hours after surgery. The first 24 hours after surgery are critical, but doctors are cautiously optimistic Amenah will fully recovery.

Maha Mohammed Al Sumaidaie kisses her 2-year-old daughter in the first hour after her open heart surgery at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.  -Photo by Neil Brake/Vanderbilt Medical Center

Karla Christian, M.D., (right) a pediatric heart surgeon at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, works to re-route the veins in 2-year-old Amenah Al-Bayati’s heart to allow her better oxygenation. On the left is first assistant Sandy Workman, R.N. – Photo by Neil Brake/Vanderbilt Medical Center