Quick Update

Please see the e-mail below, which I sent to friends and posted as a note on Facebook...

Dear Friends:

As many of you know, Soman, the 8-year old Afghan girl who has been staying with our family for about five weeks now through Solace for the Children, will be undergoing heart surgery tomorrow (Tuesday, July 5). This heart surgery will occur at Wolfson Children’s Hospital in Jacksonville, and is extensive, estimated to take 8-9 hours. The surgeons will be correcting the transposition of Soman’s major heart valves, as well as repairing a hole between her two heart chambers (this is my rudimentary explanation and understanding of the surgery). Soman is such a tiny and frail child, and the thought of her undergoing such invasive, lengthy, and complicated surgery is tough for us. However, this surgery is why she travelled to America from Afghanistan, and this surgery will offer her the best chance at a healthier and longer life.

For those who may have been checking our Solace blog (http://summerofsolace.blogspot.com) for updates, I apologize for not updating the blog recently. Our experience with Soman has been challenging at times – much different from our previous Solace experiences with Sahar and Ashraf. Hosting a younger child and one with such involved medical needs has simply been a very different experience. However, despite the challenges, Soman has undoubtedly won over our hearts in recent weeks, in her own special way.

Most of the other children involved with the Solace summer program will be returning to Afghanistan next week, but Soman will still be in the hospital when they depart. She will, obviously, be staying in Jacksonville longer, but we are not sure of the timeframe at this point. We are told Soman will be in the ICU for up to six days following the surgery, and then in a regular hospital room for 5-6 additional days.

Thanks, in advance, for your prayers, thoughts, meditations, etc. (whatever works for you) for Soman. I’ll pass along updates as we have them.

Bryan