A baby from Iran with a heart defect was denied from entering the United States, but a big turnaround has happened recently.
For everyone out there rooting for a little Iranian baby with a heart defect, here’s some huge news: the baby is set to have life-saving surgery in Portland after she was temporarily banned from entering the United States by President Donald Trump.
Little Fatemeh Reshad has a life-threatening heart condition, but she will be treated at OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland soon after she arrived in the country on Tuesday, Feb. 7, getting in thanks to a judge that blocked Trump’s immigration order. The family of the 4-month-old decided they wanted to go to Portland because it was near relatives and because of OHSU’s expertise in treatment of this particular heart condition.
She will now undergo a series of diagnostic studies in preparation for the surgery. Fatemeh recently underwent a procedure known as cardiac catheterization, and it was performed on Friday to determine just how injured her lungs are. That process reportedly went very well.
“The procedure went well today. The results were very encouraging. Despite the excess of blood passing through her lungs we believe we can proceed with surgical correction as planned,” said Laurie Armsby, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics and interim head, Division of Pediatric Cardiology, OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, OHSU School of Medicine.
“Fatemeh’s heart defects can be repaired by closing the holes in her heart and reconnecting the transposed arteries to the proper pumping chambers of the heart,” said Irving Shen, M.D., professor of surgery and head of the Division of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery at OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, OHSU School of Medicine, and a nationally accomplished expert on Fatemeh’s condition.
