Lubna Saleh

Lubna Saleh’s story is a triumphant and inspiring example of one CDH mother putting her experience with her child’s CDH diagnosis to work for others. “I decided to pursue a master’s in public health so that I can bring various stakeholders together to address health disparities and inequities among vulnerable populations on a local and global scale,” she told us in her application. If anyone can make that happen, it’s Lubna. 

Lubna immigrated to the United States from Jordan when she was young. When she was in high school, her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, Lubna kept diligently at work, managing her responsibilities with school and supporting her mother. Her mother’s passing set the stage for Lubna’s passion for helping those in vulnerable populations. After receiving a degree in Nutrition and Dietetics from Dominican University, she devoted her energy to helping others, both through service trips abroad and in her home state of Illinois. She helped the Greater Chicago Food Depository as a Nutrition and Health Coordinator and conducted research for The Manama Principals Project and Exodus World Services. Professionally, she went on to work for the University of Illinois at Chicago first as a nutrition specialist, helping communities and schools in the Chicago area, and then as an Intervention Coordinator, where she interacted with Chicago’s Arab community to better provide nutrition education to low-income populations. From there she began her work with Lions Club International, fundraising $5.1 million for humanitarian efforts and coordinating team training throughout Europe. 

It was during Lubna’s work with the Lions Club that she received the news of her son Nino’s CDH diagnosis. As a colleague disclosed, “Most office colleagues did not know of her high-risk pregnancy until after her son’s birth,” she continued to manage her full-time responsibilities without skipping a beat. “In retrospect, the emotional fortitude required to manage her responsibilities in tandem with the stress of Nino’s condition seems supernatural; to say nothing of the logistical dexterity of managing her full-time schedule around prenatal appointments.”

Nino was born on September 13, 2019, with no cry. After exhausting her maternity leave, 103 days in the NICU, and 3 intensive surgeries, he was able to come home on Christmas Day. “Throughout Nino’s journey, nurses, doctors, and family stayed by my side. I could not have done it without their loving support,” she reflected in her application. Luckily, Nino was able to make a full recovery. And now, it’s our pleasure to help Lubna continue her work in making the world a better place by putting her fundraising talents and focus through her studies at the University of Michigan, where she is pursuing a Master’s Degree in Public Health.

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