Iranian Baby With Heart Defect: Doctors Pleased With Progress

An Iranian baby with a heart defect whose life was endangered by President Trump's broad executive order limiting the ability of people from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States is doing well, her doctors said Monday.

Fatemeh Reshad, the 4-month-old who arrived at Oregon Health & Sciences University Hospital earlier this month, had surgery on Friday. Doctors said that while recovery will take time, they are pleased with the progress she has already made.

Fatemeh was born with a complex, life-threatening condition known as transposition of the great arteries, in which her blood doesn't make it to the lungs so oxygen never gets to her body.

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"She is currently doing well," said Dr. Laurie Armsby, interim head of the Division of Pediatric Cardiology at the OHSU Doernbecher Children's Hospital. "She is in the intensive care unit, recovering.

"Her heart function looks beautiful."

Fatemeh's Uncle Sam, who lives in Portland, was at the press conference and offered thanks to the doctors and staff at the hospital, the immigration lawyers who helped bring Fatemeh to Portland and to the politicians from New York and Oregon who assisted.

Fatemeh was supposed to arrive in Portland just as the ban went into effect.

Thanks to the work of immigration attorneys who volunteered their time as well as the efforts of the Oregon and New York congressional delegations, she was granted an exemption and made her way, with a guardian, to the United Arab Emirates and then Portland.

The immigration lawyer who spearheaded the effort, Jennifer Massey, said the effort to bring Fatemeh to Portland involved many people.

"This was truly a team effort to beat the clock, given the medical and legal hurdles Fatemeh was facing,” said Massey.

She said that Amber Murray, an immigration attorney in Washington, D.C., as well as volunteer medical coordinator Dr. Mary Pao Seidenman and the International Refugee Assistance Project in New York, were instrumental in that effort.

Fatemeh's rare form of congenital heart failure — it only affects two in every 10,000 newborns — is basically a death sentence without surgery.

"This is a fatal condition without treatment," Armsby said at a press conference on Saturday.

Armsby and her colleagues said that while there are excellent hospitals in Iran, this sort of condition requires a higher level of care — one that OHSU's Doernbecher's Children Hospital was prepared to offer.

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The hospital stressed its doctors are waiving their fees and the hospital is donating its services — as it says it does for thousands of children every year. It also says that no public funds will be used for her care.

"OHSU Doernbecher provides a significant amount of uncompensated care every year to ensure that the ability to pay does not prevent children from accessing OHSU's services," the hospital said in a statement. "We are fortunate to receive donations from the community to offset some of our uncompensated care costs."

OHSU says that individuals who would like to ensure their funds are used solely to benefit Fatemeh and her family can visit generosity.com. A page has been set up by Murray and Seideman. Those gifts are not tax-deductible.

The hospital also says that tax-deductible gifts to the Doernbecher Children's Hospital Foundation benefit all children and families in need. The Doernbecher Patient Care and Comfort Fund supports costs associated with medical care, lodging and travel of OHSU Doernbecher families in need. Monetary donations may be made online, or a check may be sent to: Doernbecher Children's Hospital Foundation, 1121 S.W. Salmon Street, Suite 100, Portland, OR 97205

Photos courtesy OHSU