Mended Hearts: Zainab Is Ready to Run

This is Zainab.

She came to us a couple years ago with a combination of heart defects that kept her little body from getting the oxygen it needs. Children with her condition often have skin that looks blue because the blood coursing through their arteries does not carry enough oxygen.

More worryingly, those who don’t get the treatment they need have a 1-in-2 chance of dying before their third birthday.

Zainab was 2 when she came to us. Time was running out.

But thanks to you, Zainab ran faster!

She is one of 15 children who received a lifesaving heart surgery during our twentieth Remedy Mission in Iraq. After she and her pink teddy bear were wheeled out of the operating room, her mother breathed a thankful sigh of relief. The years of holding her breath for the daughter who could not catch her own were done.

A short time later, Zainab was freed from all the wires, monitors, and IVs. She was strutting out of the ICU, ready to outrun all her friends with her brand new heart—and a brand new part of shoes.

This Valentine’s Day, mend more hearts like Zainab’s—and remake your world. Throw a #HeartMender party!

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