Cardio Start International, which is a team that focuses on the advancement of cardiothoracic surgery through international work, will hopefully be working in Erbil for two weeks in the near future. It's truly a beautiful program; the team is comprised of volunteering doctors from all over the world. Once a team is assembled, they travel to countries where the health system is extremely weak and where they are in need of the most assistance.
The team stays for about two weeks, performing free heart surgeries, providing intensive teaching and side-by-side demonstrations, and leaving any necessary equpiment so that the hospital can continue to grow. CardioStart makes it a point to establish a strong and long-term relationship with the countries that they assist. If you click here, you can find out a lot more about what CardioStart International does! I am confident that this is a relationship that will only move forward from here.
The President of CardioStart International, Dr. Aubyn Marath, and I met up at a local Starbucks yesterday afternoon to discuss this and see if there was any potential with this program. Dr. Marath is currently a professor as well as an adult and pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU).
Dr. Marath was hesitant at first; having been to Iraq 13 times, two of his cardiovascular stations were destroyed. I found out, however, that this was more towards the southern regions. I am thrilled to introduce him to the Kurdish region and I know that the Kurds will welcome him and his team with all doors and arms wide open.
The most intriguing thing about this program is that it is not religiously or politically affiliated. I am stunned at how this program has grown, and that is only from a couple days of research. I will continue to research their program, as well as assembling the plans and trip details on a daily basis. Dr. Marath shared with me some of his experiences and photos from other countries that he visited. You know the saying, "A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words?" ...these photos left me absolutely speechless. It is not the matter of: look at these procedures that they are doing, look at all that equipment they are donating...
What really got to me was the expressions of the people they were healing. Some crying as if they're prayers were finally answered, and some expressions were blank. Some of these people looked as if they had lost all hope and completely given up and were shocked that anyone actually cared to come in and assist them.
Yet again...another reminder for why I am doing what I am doing.
I may be 19. A college student. An employee. None of these will stop me from pursuing this beautiful picture that started with instincts. Many discouraged me and told me to just stick to school. I can do both. I have the most amazing family helping me in every way they can and I am forever indebted to them all for the constant support and the daily reassurance they give me. I also thank all my friends and colleagues for understanding the social sacrifices I need to make for this vision that I have to become a reality.
I realize that this is all going to be even more work now, and fundraising is just as critical as it was before CardioStart was involved, if not more critical now.
Please do what you can; it is alright if you are unable to donate because there are so many opportunities to volunteer that everything makes a difference now. It's a critical time and we can use all the assistance we can get.
Thank you so much for all your support. Although this is just one step into the process, it would be impossible if we didn't have the support we do.
AND thank you CardioStart, on behalf of the millions of people that you heal and will continue to heal in the future of your organization. I'm proud and would be HONORED to represent you one day on The Journey to Heal Kurdistan.
Sincerely,
Mina Saad Meman
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