...a note from Bro. Barry on Waqas Javed
On May 5th I travelled to the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates to
visit our missionary counterpart, Anwar Javed. Anwar works and lives
in the nation of Pakistan, and does extensive missionary and
translation work for Believers in Pakistan and other nations speaking
the Urdu language. Anwar is a key person in the spread of the Gospel
in this troubled part of the world, and has been instrumental in
overseeing the translation work, as well as being well known as an
excellent steward of financial resources placed at his disposal over
the years we have known him. I have visited his home, his church, and
have met several members of the family as well as members of his
church and fellow ministers who share the positive report about this
co-worker in Pakistan.
Due to the safety issues and ongoing violence in Pakistan it is not
always possible for me to travel into the country. Therefore, we have
often arranged to meet with Anwar and other Pakistani ministers in the
nation of UAE, as we did on May 5th. Anwar had some health concerns
himself, and we made an appointment with the American Hospital in
Dubai to have him examined.
Anwar also brought his wife, Sheeba and their four year old son with
him to Dubai. The son, Waqas, was born with a heart defect (a hole
between the two major chambers of his heart) which is normally
corrected in the first year after birth. In Pakistan, the high risk of
post operative infection is extremely high, making the success rate
for such operations extremely low. When Waqas was born, his parents
chose to delay the operation, not having any idea how serious the
defect could become. While travelling to Dubai on May 5th, Waqas
experienced a "seizure" and was taken to a local hospital in Lahore,
Pakistan. The attending physician attributed the "seizure" to his
heart condition (in medical terms, VSD), which they described was
becoming rapidly worse over time. The family travelled onto Dubai,
where we had Waqas examined by a specialist, who perfomed an immediate
EKG and sonogram on the heart. His recommendation was for an immediate
operation by a pediatric cardiologist, a specialist in this type of
procedure. There are no such specialists anywhere in the Middle East.
The specialists recommended going to the United States to seek a
specialist in this type of procedure.
Our search in the United States led us to the University of Michigan
University Hospital, and Dr. E. Bove, who is considered the foremost
specialist in the world for this type of procedure. We made contact
with him, and the hospital and Dr. Bove asked to see the medical
records I had brought back from Dubai. His prognosis verified the
diagnosis made by the two other doctors who had recently examined
Waqas, and immediately offered his services. Based on our
communications with him, he agreed to perform the procedure without
any fee of any kind. He contacted the hospital and began the
arrangements to proceed with the many team members required to perform
such a critical and complex procedure.
The hospital agreed to waive most of their cost of such a procedure,
and our estimate for the operation stands at $50,000. We estimate also
that the travel expenses of the family will cost approximately $15,000
and their living expenses while in the United States to be approx.
$10,000, for a total of $75,000. We have already been assured of
almost half of this amount, and as soon as these funds are assured, we
are able to apply for a special Medical Transit Visa from Pakistan to
the United States for emergency medical care. It is estimated by the
doctors, that Waqas would perhaps not live more than another 10-12
months if he does not have the operation. All three of the doctors
agreed that he needs this operation immediately.
I trust this information gives a sufficient overview of the situation
with Waqas, and please feel free to contact me if there is any further
information needed, or more specific medical information.
I have established a fund for any fully tax deductible contributions
to this worthy cause at the following address:
Hickory Bible Tabernacle
P.O. Box 715, Hickory, North Carolina 28603
Attn: Waqas Javed Fund
Website: www.hickorybibletabernacle.org
Tel: (Mob.) 540-239-4404; (Res.) 540-381-9484
Sister Sheeba, Bro. Anwar, and little Waqas
