Ahmed Abu Salama Update
Ahmed Abu Salama is a teenage boy from Gaza who was severely injured in an Israeli attack over one year ago.
Thanks to the efforts of the Palestine Children's Relief Fund (PCRF) Ahmed and his mother Karima arrived in Madison on Sunday May 24th, safely and on time for medical treatment donated by American Family Children's Hospital. Their journey from Gaza to Madison took two weeks, with the biggest challenge of getting from Gaza to Egypt going relatively smoothly.
An enthusiastic group of a dozen people greeted Ahmed and Karima at the airport. For the first week, Ahmed and Karima stayed with a volunteer host family. Since then, Karima has stayed at the Ronald McDonald House while Ahmed has been at Children's Hospital. If all goes well Ahmed will move into Ronald McDonald House with his mother later this week while receiving outpatient care at the hospital.
Ahmed was scheduled to have cranial reconstruction surgery on June 10th, but due to complications from other injuries it was postponed until June 16. The surgery went well, although Ahmed is still in the hospital and is being treated for an earlier foot infection. It is hoped that he will soon be discharged to return for outpatient treatment and therapy. At this time, we do not know the exact length of Ahmed's stay, but it is estimated to be 3 to 7 more weeks.
There have been many community volunteers who have helped Ahmed and Karima feel at home in Madison. Ahmed and Karima have also benefitted from the generosity of the doctors and staff at Children's Hospital and at the Ronald McDonald House. In the next few weeks, everyone will be working together to make Ahmed and Karima's experience here a very good one and to see that Ahmed's treatment is a success.
MRSCP has agreed to cover the cost of Ahmed and Karima's stay at Ronald McDonald House. This cost is only $10 per day, payable at the end of their stay. We estimate a maximum cost of $850. Can you pay for a day or two, or a week? If you can help us with these expenses, please send a donation to "Abu Salama".
Any funds raised beyond the cost of their Ronald McDonald House stay will go towards medical expenses not covered by the hospital, or to PCRF and Ronald McDonald House. All contributions through MRSCP are tax deductible.
If you would like to know more about or donate to the PCRF, the wonderful organization which has facilitated Ahmed's treatment here, please visit http://www.pcrf.net/first.html.
Finally, if you would like to volunteer help during Ahmed's stay, please contact Kathy Walsh at madderhorn2[at]sbcglobal.net. This can include visiting in the hospital or at Ronald McDonald House, providing meals or transportation, and taking Ahmed and Karima on short excursions in Madison.
As always, thank you for your support.
Injured Gaza Boy Arrives in the USA for Surgery
Palestine Children's Relief Fund (PCRF), May 2009
On May 24, 15-year-old Ahmed Abu Salam and his mother Karima arrived in Madison, Wisconsin for surgery to repair a skull defect, which he suffered from an Israeli bomb near hiAhmed Abu Salamas home in the Jebalya refugee camp in northern Gaza in 2008. He will be treated by Dr. Delora Mount, assistant professor of surgery at the University of Wisconsin Medical Center. The PCRF is cooperating with the Madison-Rafah Sister City Project (MRSCP) to care for Ahmed and his mother during this treatment in the States. Several other injured kids in Gaza are in need of surgery that the PCRF has arranged for them in the States, but we cannot get them out currently due to Egyptian authorities closing the Rafah crossing.
For more information on Ahmed's injury, please see http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article355
