It's hard to believe that it has been almost 6 months since Anes and parents, Adis and Aldina, arrived in Indianapolis looking for "HOPE in One Hemisphere"...and now nearly 4 months since they returned home to Bosnia with a 'new" Anes - happy and progressing AND seizure free! In the two months they were here, I spent a lot of time with them - hoping with them and helping as well I hope. I can not put into adequate words what it meant to share in this piece of their journey. I feel a great bond with them and a great love for them. And I really miss them. It warms my heart to get updates on Anes and to see pictures of him happy and doing 'typical' things...like feeding himself. I pray each day that he continues to make developmental strides and never experiences another seizure. Afterall, that is the ultimate goal any parent is reaching for in putting their child through this crazy surgery called hemispherectomy. A huge surgery that at first seems so unreasonable and unfathomable to a parent, but which quickly becomes the best HOPE for a better life for their child. It takes any parent a lot of FAITH and TRUST to proceed. Imagine what it must have took for these parents to come to a foreign land and trust all these people they knew only through the internet or not at all! Amazing parents...amazing people...but the driver was their immense love for Anes and the need to have this HOPE for him. And what a team of people it took to make it happen...all for a boy they had never met but whom they felt compelled to help...to get his shot at 'HOPE in One Hemisphere'. Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who had a hand involved or played a role. What a gift YOU all were given...to be a part of Anes' story.
Which brings me to THE STORY...
I received word from my contact with Wish TV 8 in Indianapolis about the schedule for airing the local coverage of Anes' story. The local coverage will have interviews with myself and Jon and footage from our home and Avery as well as Anes in therapy. It focuses on the piece of the story that tells how Anes' family came to connect with myself, then the Hemispherectomy Foundation, and end up in Indianapolis for surgery. It focuses on the diagnosis, the connections of our familes, the value of helping others, etc. The first local coverage will air this Sunday night (Dec 13th) during the night cast. Additional repeat coverage will then air on Monday during daybreak news cast and at the 5pm news cast. I am sure that it will also be available from the website at some point as well (www.WISHTV.com).
The Doctors episode airs on CBS on Monday, Dec 14th (check www.thedoctorstv.com for your local listing for time and channel). This episode will cover Anes' journey through surgery, the surgery itself and it showcases Anes, his amazing parents (Adis and Aldina) and the wonderful neurosurgeon Dr. Aaron Cohen-Gadol (who performed Anes' hemispherectomy here in Indianapolis) on set. I have no idea what all made it into the final cut of the episode they are airing, but they took photage of Anes' from pre-surgery, during surgery, through initial recovery, etc, as well as interviews with the family, Dr. Cohen, Dr. Patel, the rehab team, myself, and others. They also had access to all the pictures I had taken from the time Anes, Adis and Aldina arrived through Anes' recovery. I'm excited to see this episode and see Anes, Adis and Aldina's beautiful faces again...it is hard to not miss them terribly. It is amazing to realize that they came here with Anes having more seizures than they even realized at the time and after the hard work and generosity of an amazing medical team and hospital and help from The Hemispherectomy Foundation, they got to go back home to their other child, family and friends and share the 'new' Anes. What a blessing!
If you take nothing else from this story...
Know that reaching out to others is the right thing to do.
Know that there is nothing monetary or even tangible that is as rewarding as helping another.
Know that great faith can move mountains.
Know that nothing is more powerful than love, especially love for a child.
Know that it doesn't matter the differences in your nationality, your faith, or your language...the hope and love in your hearts will connect you above all of those.
Blessings of the season!
Holly
I just saw the episode on The Doctors and got online to learn more. My name is Zerina, and I am from Bosnia as well so it really meant a lot to me to see that they came to the States to get more help. I know how hard it truely is to get help with such a rare problem as his.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see he is getting better.
Zerina D. Ohio