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20 years later: The boy from Ethiopia underwent another heart operation in Israel Israel today

2021-08-15T13:16:52.613Z


Lolsgad, 33, suffered a heart defect and needed an urgent and complex medical procedure. Twenty years after the life of Lolsgad Casa, the athletic boy from Ethiopia, was saved by a complex heart operation in Israel, he returned for another life-saving operation in Israel.  Lolsgad (33) was born and raised in Addis Ababa. He lives today with his wife in a one-room apartment with no electricity and no running water. At the age of 13 he was diagnosed with heart failure and required urge


Twenty years after the life of Lolsgad Casa, the athletic boy from Ethiopia, was saved by a complex heart operation in Israel, he returned for another life-saving operation in Israel. 

Lolsgad (33) was born and raised in Addis Ababa.

He lives today with his wife in a one-room apartment with no electricity and no running water.

At the age of 13 he was diagnosed with heart failure and required urgent surgery.

In those years a new association "Shadow the Heart of a Child" was established with the aim of caring for children growing up in an environment without an advanced health system.

He was flown to Israel and operated on at Wolfson Hospital in Holon by the association's founder, the late Ami Cohen.

Lolsgad // Photo: The shadow of a child's heart,

Since then, the organization has rescued nearly 6,000 children with heart disease from more than 62 countries.

While a delegation from the association arrived in Ethiopia to perform heart surgery on children, Lolsgad contacted the association's CEO, Simon Fisher, and the rest of the team, asking to be examined after undergoing a medical procedure in India. 

In the midst of surgery // Photo: The shadow of a child's heart,

Dr. Lior Sasson, director of the Heart and Chest Unit at Wolfson Hospital, who was present at the delegation, said: Out of a moral commitment and a desire to help our patients as much as possible even after they have grown up. "

Dr. Sasson testified that over the years a close and warm relationship has developed between the staff and Lolsgad: "Including participating in joint celebrations and annual visits to the hotel where he works in Addis Ababa, as part of the humanitarian missions we send to Ethiopia each year."

This week, Lolsgad successfully underwent surgery in Israel, and during his recovery at the hospital, he was visited by philanthropist Maurice Kahn, who funds the association's activities.

During the visit, Lolsgad thanked Kahn for his work on behalf of children and adolescents in need of life-saving heart surgery. 

Lolsgad Casa said: "Arriving in Israel opened up the world to me. It was new to me, but I knew I was in good hands. Twenty years ago when I was first treated in Israel, I remember waking up after the surgery with Dr. Ami Cohen's hand on my head.

His message was, without saying it in words, that everything would be fine.

It proved to be much more true than I could have imagined then.

For the past two years I have been so ill that I could not even go up the stairs.

When the Shadow Child's Heart Association informed me that I could return to Israel for the medical procedure, I was very relieved.

My hope returned because I knew that in Israel I would receive the best treatment to survive.



"At first I had a hard time believing it would happen until the moment I landed at Ben Gurion Airport, so I calmed down and said now it will be okay, I will heal. Thanks to the Israeli medical staff who saved my life, whom I later met year after year in Addis Ababa during their visits to Ethiopia to save more children, I knew they would save me. There are no words in my mouth that can describe what this organization does, they gave me my life back and all I can do is thank God, the State of Israel and save the heart of a child. "

Simon Fischer, CEO of Shadow a Child's Heart, summed up the visit: "For 25 years we have been working out of a genuine belief in fixing the world and striving to help every child with a heart disease, which also leads to the construction of new bridges between Israel and the nations." This activity would not have been possible had it not been for the generous contribution of philanthropist Maurice Kahn who accompanies us throughout the years and helps those children win new lives. "Closing this circle expresses Mr. Kahn's deep connection to the association's humanitarian activities and to strengthening Israel's image in the world."

Source: israelhayom

All news articles on 2021-08-15

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