So Proud!

Andrea and baby Nurdin

I am so proud of my daughter, Andrea, for how she has reached out and cared, supported and has just been there for other heart moms since Drew's birth. Obviously her road has not been an easy one, and even when it was at its worse, she still found that helping others in her situation helped her, as well. If you click on the title of my blog today, you can go to her site and read back a few blogs to the story of Zumrat and Nurdin, who were flown in from Krygyzstan, because they don't do the type of surgery this sweet 9 month old little baby needed and he would have only survived another six months without it. The Dr. that assisted in Drew's last surgery performed it for them free of charge and an interpreter was even flown in with the mom because she speaks absolutely no English. Imagine the trust this mother had in order to believe that what these people told her about her baby was true and to follow through with such a scary journey. He has never had meds, since they are not available where they live. She doesn't have a phone or electricity and in the winter it gets 40 degrees below zero. Her husband has one outfit that he hangs on a hook every night and puts back on in the morning. They also have a 3 year old daughter. In her village she was told that her sonb would grow out of his obvious problems. Amazing! Anyway, Andrea stayed with them, along with some other wonderful supportive heart moms, throughout the surgery and post op and Zurat has come to love my daughter. I don't blame her! With everything else Andrea does in a day, she makes the time to help this sweet mom feel comfortable and secure and finds such joy in helping others! I only wish that I will have such an opportunity some day.

Nurdin's Mom, Zurat and Andrea. To read more of this story, go to
himmelberger.blogspot.com