Refugee boy with 3 hands needs an urgent surgery: activists plea

Reporting by Faris Al RiFai; Translation by Yusra Ahmed

Mohammed al-Hamwi, a five years old Syrian boy from Hama countryside, has a major deformation in his body, he has a third arm with fingers, situated at his buttock. The deformation has started to affect his nervous system especially movement of his left leg, beside the pain resulted from pressure that arm make on his spine.

Mohammed’s condition is rare and happens to one child in 5 million.

Nidal al-Akidi, an activist helped Mohammed and his family and accommodated them in his house in Antakya, talked to Zaman Alwasl about Mohammed’s medical condition saying: “he was born in 2009, with a twin attached to him, according to doctors, the third arm is innervated from the spine, and causes pressure on nearby organs like left kidney and nerves especially those innervating the left leg, causes paralysis to the the left foot's first toe, besides severe pain which needs an urgent intervention to free the boy from pain”

The activist says that Mohammed’s family has very bad living condition beside poverty and he accommodates them in his house because they cannot afford for rent, Mohammed’s father used to work as a farmer but was forced to leave his land running away from war.

In regard to the operation, the activist explains that it will be a complicated one and needs a team of neurosurgeons, orthopedics and vascular surgeons and it is too expensive, however, two people volunteered to cover the cost, but unfortunately equipment and facilities are not available in Antakya and operation cannot be done in the city.

In the end the activist wishes that National Coalition and the Interim Government would have a medical section to be a reference for patients of Syrian refugees who need treatment or operations, instead of begging hospitals in other countries or wait for some good people to feel pity for them and help. “We started this revolution to regain our dignity, not the other way round and lose it more and more.”