Matt Willingham 
Astronaut… professional Lego builder… Jedi… primatologist (monkey scientist, for you laymen)…
Growing up, my dream jobs were a little ridiculous, but that’s a part of what made them dreams. And they were mine.
But what if someone had actually approached 8 year-old me and said, “We’re bringing you some of the the best primatologists in the world to train you for an entire year because we want you to be excellent—we’re going to help you achieve your dream.“
Put mildly, I would’ve been very excited.
But that’s monkey business (sorry) when compared with the gift YOU’ve given to Iraqi doctors like Dr. Akeel and his team: an entire year of hands-on training from some of the best cardiac doctors and nurses in the world.
Dr. Akeel’s dream is to become the kind of heart surgeon who can save the lives of thousands and help eradicate The Backlog, and you’re making that possible. This isn’t some silly child-hood fantasy, this is the realization of something incredibly valuable, and it will bless countless lives.
Since we started this year of doctor-training and life-saving down in Nasiriyah nearly four months ago, there has been a constant stream of hands-on training for the doctors and nurses there. The pace of a year-long program like this is much different from our fast-paced, packed Remedy Missions.
As of today, an average of 12 children have received heart operations per month and countless thousands of hours of training have been logged. The International Children’s Heart Foundation team members are creating protocols and teaching the locals how to follow them, the local ICU staff are getting the kind of in-depth training they need, and Dr. Novick is personally there now doing diagnostics, providing operations, and leading training sessions.
But that’s not the best part. The most exciting news is that the people of Nasiriyah and the Thi-Qar province finally have an ongoing source of hope for their children. They don’t have to batter down the hospital doors, begging for a remedy.
Now, the Remedy is there to stay. The doctors aren’t leaving, and they can breathe a little easier knowing the team is working through a long list, getting closer and closer to saving their child’s life, and you helped give that to them. Thank you!
Stay tuned, we’ll have more real-time updates for you from Remedy Fellowship very soon.
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And what about you? If you had access to a group of experts who were willing to train you toward excellence in a field, what would it be? Comment below or send me an email here, I’d love to hear from you! Just don’t say Jedi…if they come to train someone, it’ll definitely be me.
