Can you imagine that a simple question to a person on a train could lead to being a part of a life-saving miracle? Well, imagine it because that’s just what happened.
In the fall of 2005, I was traveling by train to Carlsbad, California from our home in Westlake Village, California when I noticed a small Asian lady knitting. I asked her what she was knitting, and she said, "hats for our soldiers." She belonged to a group of senior citizen volunteers who sent packages to American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. I told her that I was interested in volunteering and she gave me the name of her group and their phone number.
When I returned home, I called the number and got all the information. When I appeared at the next meeting, my new acquaintance was shocked to see me. She said, "lots of people ask questions and say they will come, but don’t."
While we were packaging goodie boxes for the soldiers, our volunteer group leader mentioned that our soldiers were looking for help for a little boy named Assadullah in Afghanistan who needed open heart surgery. It just so happens that my husband works with the Gift of Life International, an organization that has saved over 10,000 children from third world countries who have heart defects. Talk about synchronistic! Or let’s say God works in mysterious ways.
Suddenly, through AnySoldier.com, I was in the chat-room with Chief Warrant Office Layne Pace a member of the 211th Aviation Attack helicopter Battalion in Afghanistan who had gotten all the necessary tests for this little boy. My husband procured Loma Linda hospital and a world renowned surgeon, Dr. Lyn Bailey for the operation. Our soldiers worked with Gift of Life to get the proper visas and help from Pakistani Airlines and Jet Blue. When we met Assadullah at the Long Beach airport his lips were turning blue. He could only walk a short distance before kneeling to catch his breath.
Assadullah came with his father and they were transported to Loma Linda where the successful surgery took place. This sounds like it happened quickly but, actually, from beginning to end, it took about six months. It was a rocky road and not everything fell into place immediately...but our soldiers never gave up. When it looked like we didn’t have an airline, the soldiers reached into their own pockets and raised $6,000.00. After the airlines donated tickets, our soldiers decided to use that money to start an orphanage in Afghanistan on property that President Karzai donated.
