Dialysis not working well for Habib

Habib, the young Christian Kurd whose kidneys have failed, is not responding well to dialysis treatment at a hospital in northern Iraq. He needs a kidney transplant fast and you can help.
Anemic, with blood that clots too quickly and weak veins, his body is struggling to cope with the tubes that are inserted on a regular basis to flush out his organs.
“Also the flushing gives him difficulty breathing,” said the 21-year-old’s mother, Nadema Mosa, her face strained with worry and exhaustion.

“If he stays on the dialysis he is going to have side effects. When he goes for the flushing it is good because it numbs him but in the end it is going to exhaust him,” she said, speaking from next to Habib’s bed on a kidney ward at Hevie Hospital in the Kurdish city of Duhok.
“Every day we try a new piece of equipment and it does not work.”
Lying on one side with bandages around his neck – the only place where doctors could find a good enough vein to insert a dialysis tube – Habib is desperate for help.
“Nothing has really come out of this painful process I have been through,” he said.
“The longer they continue the dialysis the more they are going to torture me. Every day they stick something in me. The only answer is a transplant as I cannot continue with this illness.”
Unfortunately the family, which fled Baghdad to a village on Iraq’s volatile border with Turkey last year after being persecuted by Islamic extremists because they are Christians, lacks the funds to pay for the treatment.
They only managed to start the dialysis, which is supposed to keep Habib alive until a kidney donor is found, thanks to a $400 donation from a stranger. That money will soon run out.

A transplant would cost 5,000 to 6,000 pounds in Iraq, with the sum trebling if he is taken for better-quality treatment in a neighbouring country. Further money would also be needed afterwards for anti-rejection drugs to ensure his body accepts the new kidney.
If anyone wants to help Habib there is a system in place to do so.
The charity Iraqi Christians In Need has agreed to accept any donations. It will then transfer the money to a group of sisters – of the religious rather than related kind – who live in a small house in Duhok. I visited the head sister earlier this week and she has promised to make sure any money goes directly to Habib. She will also keep a record on how it is spent.
To get in touch with the right person at Iraqi Christians In Need, please drop me a line on this blog (all responses will be kept confidential) and I will give you the contact details.

Any aid for Habib will encourage him to continue fighting.
He almost gave up a few days ago when his mother took him to a different kidney hospital in Irbil, the regional capital of Iraq’s Kurdish north, to see another doctor.
“It was awful,” said Nadema, recalling the trip to the kidney wing of the hospital.
“Elderly people with kidney disease were dying left and right, we even saw children there suffering,” she said.
“Habib felt so bad that he could not sleep in his bed and went out to sleep in the corridor. We urged him not to give up. I told him that I know we do not have the money to help but help will come so hang in there.”
As for Habib, he just wants his life back on track.
“Before falling ill, I wanted to travel and see the world but this never happened.”

(Picture 1: Habib and his mother Nadema at the hospital in Duhok
Picture 2: Father Yousef, whose parishes include the village of Dash Ta Takhe where Habib lives, says prayers with the patient who is scared about his fate)

Comments

[Dad]

Hi Debbie,

You could put me down for £100.00.

How are you and do you have any idea of when you might be coming home? Am really looking forward to seeing you. When is Robbie setting off?

Love Dad

x

[Amy Lane]

Deborah,

I hope that many people reading this blog and the other reports on Habib will be as moved as I have been.

This family are in such desparate need it would be great to restore their faith in humanity.

My church, St Matthew's in Walsall, have organised a 'Sing to Save' sponsored event on 15th Dec for Habib.

I hope others will give what they can to this worthwhile appeal.

[Eugene]

Does he need a Christian kidney or will a Muslim one do?

[Robert Holt]

Hi Deborah,

Your blog is fascinating and disturbing in equal measure. I read each article with interest and would love to see Habib well again.

Please send me the relevant details so that I can make a donation.

Best Regards,
Robert.

[Robert Holt]

Hi,

I sent an email a short while back. If you can update my post to include an amount then please say I am going to donate £150.00. It may be useful if a running total could be put up somewhere in case people don't donate because they assume the target has been met. Just an idea.

Regards, Robert.

[Mina Al-Oraibi]

Hi Deborah
I would like to donate some money for Habib. Please email me or let me know how best to donate - i'd also like to pass on the details to other Iraqi friends in London
Keep well and keep safe
Mina

[stef]

i would like to give something,but all i have is prayer. ild pray that help comes his way soon.

[Joshua]

Just thought I would write to tell you I have sent this on to several charity and religious organizations in the U.S. I am a soldier here and felt this was a perfect opportunity for one of those random acts of kindness that Iraq so desperately needs.

If you are ever in Arbil again, here is another gentleman you should meet who is trying to assemble a monumental project in his own right. He is a Swedish gentleman who is devoting his life to helping the Kurds and starting a reforestation project in Arbil. Here is his blog http://kurdishtree.blogspot.com/

Kind Regards,
Joshua

[Sue]

Dear Deb,
I administer a prayer network and we have been praying for Habib since I saw this post. Please do update us on his condition.
Blessings!
sue