An expectant mother from Iraq who had lived through wars had never cried as much her entire life as when she discovered that her unborn baby would be born with a serious heart defect and would require multiple surgeries in the first two years of her life.
However, an unexpected miracle occurred that stopped her tears and gave hope, not only to the family, but to many kids around the world.
Dowaa Saleh, also known as Dr. Doaa AlSamrae, was 20 weeks pregnant and living in Dubai when she learned that her baby was diagnosed with a congenital heart disease called pulmonary atresia with an intact ventricular septum. She learned that her baby would be born with a condition called half-a-heart syndrome.
“The doctor told me at that time, that my daughter would need many surgeries after birth to be able to live with half a heart, she would be delayed in life, and we may lose her, with her life expectancy to be in her 30s,” Saleh, who’s also a health/women and children’s rights advocate, told The Epoch Times.
Doctors explained to Saleh and her husband, Ali, that the heart muscle of their daughter was destined to atrophy because one of the valves that takes blood to the lung was blocked. This stopped the growth of the right side of the heart.
On hearing this, Ali asked the doctors if anything could be done to help prevent it, but was met with a “no.” Meanwhile, at home, the couple tried to educate themselves about the condition by reading more online.
Once, while she was sitting at home, with her eyes shut in despair, Saleh suddenly remembered a scene from the medical drama series “Grey’s Anatomy.”
Dr. Arizona Robbins and Dr. DeLuca, two fictional characters from the show, had performed surgery on a baby inside the mother’s womb.
Always a fan of “Grey’s Anatomy,” Saleh had seen the episode months earlier.
“This scene was so special,“ Saleh said. ”They do surgeries for babies when the mom’s pregnant. Can they do something for my baby? I immediately did a search ... and the surgery was there to save my child.”
Saleh’s new insight led to an immediate search for a hospital that could help. As it was a relatively new and highly advanced procedure, only very few places were able to offer this kind of fetal heart intervention.
Knowing they only had a very short window of time, the couple tried contacting different hospitals in countries around the world and didn’t catch a minute of sleep for two long days until they got an answer.
Finally, they received a positive email from Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio.
Dr. James Strainic, a pediatric cardiologist and director of the hospital’s Congenital Heart Collaborative, recognized the desperate mother’s appeal.
“He didn’t know me,” Selah said. “I was someone on the other side of the world, but he knew: this is a mother who wants to save her child.”
Before Strainic could make any assurances, he coordinated with Dr. Mohammed Souliman—a doctor he worked with earlier in his career—to obtain clear images and evaluate the case closely. Soon, the parents received an email that made them jump in joy as he confirmed that he could perform the surgery.
“It was one of the best moments in my life because at least there was hope,” Selah said.
After hearing the hopeful news, everything transpired rather quickly. Selah had to travel to the United States in just a few weeks’ time to undergo the rare procedure. However, with the support of their family, the couple made the nearly impossible journey 7,000 miles away with their young toddler Leen to the United States.
There was also a fear that lingered in the couple’s mind, that there was a 10 percent chance the baby might not survive from the surgery.
“It was very hard to travel alone,” she said, “but we went for it.”
However, after arriving in the United States, Strainic and his team made them feel like they were family.
“They cared about our daughter, about our fears in this difficult time,“ Selah said. ”I guess that’s the beautiful picture of humanity, how we are Iraqis, they are Americans, we don’t know each other, but we united together to save this child.”
The surgery was extremely intricate and involved multiple medics, nurses, and staff members.
“The procedure [the unborn child] underwent was an ‘in-utero pulmonary valvuloplasty,’“ Strainic told The Epoch Times. ”It’s very delicate. Using a special needle, we punctured Dr. Dowaa’s abdomen, crossed through the amniotic space, through the chest, and into the fetal heart.
“This is done with ultrasound guidance and is minimally invasive. We then thread a special catheter with a balloon on the end through the needle. Once the balloon is across the stuck valve, we inflate the balloon. This forces the stuck valve open and allows for the blood to move forward and promotes the growth of the right pumping chamber muscle.”
Saleh, who was watching everything on the ultrasound screen, described the moment her daughter’s heart valve opened. She said: “When they opened it, the whole team was screaming with happiness and I was crying because I could see the blood in her heart flowing properly, so it started growing again.”
According to Strainic, great teamwork and communication were crucial.
“The Congenital Heart Collaborative is what allows us to do this,” he said. “It is a partnership between two hospitals about 200 miles apart working together to provide this valuable and rare procedure.”
When Saleh returned to Dubai, the family faced further challenges. Stainic had informed the couple that there was a chance that, at the end of the pregnancy, the connection between the heart and the lungs could close again.
Thus the doctors at At Aljalila Specialty Children Hospital in Dubai were prepared. On the second day after Saleh’s daughter’s birth, they performed open-heart surgery to successfully reverse the worst-case scenario of the valve reclosing.
The couple named their daughter “Nadine,” which means “hope,” as they believe that her story is raising awareness of congenital heart disease, and the possibility of miraculous in-womb surgery.
Shortly after Nadine was born, the family moved to Canada, where they found out that she had another condition affecting the bones in her head. It necessitated further surgery; this time, at the Montreal Children Hospital.
“The challenge for parents confronted with congenital heart disease is that the child may have other conditions,“ Saleh said. ”Our miracle baby survived three surgeries by her first birthday, but after that, it was perfect.”
Saleh refers to Nadine, now 3, as an “international miracle,” as healthcare heroes in Dubai, America, and Canada have done their best to care for her.
Saleh is currently studying health communication at Ottawa university and the family is sharing Nadine’s story on social media to raise awareness about congenital heart disease, and raise funds for medical research and foundations that provide medical treatments for heart babies.
Invited to appear on Good Morning America, Saleh and Ali received a surprise video message from Italian-Canadian actor Giacomo Gianniotti, who plays Dr. DeLuca in “Grey’s Anatomy.”
“Giacomo told us that he and all the cast were so happy to hear of Nadine’s story and how that scene helped save her life,” Saleh said. “We are so grateful to the ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ team. I was always a fan. But I never expected that my life would crossroads with ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ like this one day!”
Strainic too was equally moved by the story.
“It’s amazing that the relationships we build early in our lives may result in a patient traveling over 7,000 miles for a life-altering procedure,“ Strainic said. ”That is a very humbling and awe-inspiring thing.
“I am always awed by the lengths that a mother will go to protect her child. Dr. Dowaa made so many sacrifices.”
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