(Zaman Al Wasl)- On a metal bed in a hospital in the embattled Eastern al-Ghouta suburbs, Yassin, 3-year-old child, sits smiling innocently at everyone around him although he has spent all his years so far ill and visiting medical centers for treatment and checkups.
Yassin, three, suffers from a ventricular septal defect (a congenital heart defect), bronchial asthma that occurs in the form of frequent asthma attacks, delayed development and craniosynostosis a condition that describes when the skull bones fuse too early resulting in an abnormally shaped head. Despite all the aches and pains in his small body, Yassin still smiles as he waits, along with 572 other cases, to be evacuated from the Eastern al-Ghouta to receive life-saving treatment.
According to the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS), of the 572 cases waiting for evacuation, 225 are children who require various surgeries while the remaining patients need other treatment protocols, 65 of them are children under five. SAMS continues to operate in the besieged Easter Ghouta despite the difficulties and continued dangers.
Yassin’s medical situation was further complicated after regime airplanes dropped a cluster bomb on his house in Saqaba. The bomb fell on the room Yassin slept in, leading to the ceiling and furniture in the room falling on him. Due to the incident, Yassin suffered a break to his skull, and his right leg was broken, according to Dr Amani Balour. Dr Amani who monitors Yassin’s case explained that after the bombing, he was quickly transported to one of the hospitals in al-Ghouta and he underwent a neurological surgery.
Dr Amani, a pediatric physician, following up on the humanitarian cases in the Eastern al-Ghouta, said that Yassin comes to the medical centers frequently because of his asthma attacks, respiratory diseases, among other health problems. She added that there is no possibility of treating his neurological problems because of the lack of medical equipment and facilities in Eastern Ghouta.
The doctor added that Yassin’s life was not in danger at this time and the neurological injury did not affect him, but he must be evacuated so doctors can conduct an EKO scan and he needs to be seen by a cardiologist as he may require surgery.
Dr. Amani wants to draw attention to the cases of patients who require evacuation, especially children, as it is a child’s most fundamental right to receive medical treatment. She added, “Many children need diagnostic or therapeutic procedures or surgery that are not available in the Eastern Ghouta because of the siege.”
By Faris Rifai
Zaman A Wasl
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