Mustafa Irshaid from Dara’a - Syria

Mustafa Irshaid from Sayda village in Dara’a,Syria, was severely injured on the 29th of September 2013 when a missile fell nearby the restaurant where his father worked.  After school, Mustafa used to go to the restaurant to help his father and was injured while helping his father serving food.  One of his arms was amputated after the injury, he also had amputation from below the knee in one of his legs. He arrived in Amman hospital for the first time in 2014 and had over 3 bone graft surgeries alongside physiotherapy treatment to help him regain the strength and mobility needed to stand up again and leave his wheel chair behind. In a couple of weeks, he will receive prosthetic limbs.

‘’I like the new MSF hospital as it has more space and I can do more activities with other patients in between surgeries.’’ Mustafa said. ‘’ I saw many patients like me who arrived in a similar condition and by undergoing treatment they recovered. My father is with me in the hospital and he always tells me I have to be patient because one day I will finish my treatment.  I used to play football with my friends in Syria in the afternoons and I hope after the completion of my treatment with MSF in Amman, I will be able to play football again. It doesn’t matter if I play with a normal leg or prosthetic leg as long as I can enjoy playing and can kick the ball again.’’

Ahmad Khalifa from Diyala - Iraq

Ahmad is a 15 year- old from Diyala governorate. He was injured in October 2010, when an ambushed car a few meters from his school building exploded. Ahmad doesn’t like to describe this moment and is trying to erase it from his memory. All he remembers is the noise of the ambulances arriving and fire all around him.  

He arrived at the MSF surgery project in Amman in 2011 for the first time and has had 22 surgeries since then. He had severe burn injuries to his face, neck, arms and other parts of his body. His next surgery is due by the 3rd week of September.

 ‘’This hospital has become a second home for me; I’ve made more friends here from the other patients than I have in Iraq. The new hospital is a convenient place and we get to watch football matches on TV. I support Real Madrid and I will always do’ so,” said Ahmad.

Mustafa Abdullah, from  Dair Az-Zour- Syria

Mustafa is a 4 year- old child from Dair Az-Zour in Syria.  He suffered severe injuries to his hip, leg and head in August 2014 when a barrel bomb fell on his family house. Both his father and mother were killed as well as one of his sisters and a cousin.  He crossed the border into Jordan from Syria with his grandmother after spending 17 days of treatment in a field hospital in the village.

Four months later, he was identified by an MSF doctor in Zaatari camp for Syrian refugees in Jordan and admitted to the Amman reconstructive surgery project. He had one orthopedic surgery in his leg and is currently undergoing physiotherapy until his next surgery is scheduled. He arrived in a wheelchair but after several physiotherapy sessions can now stand up with the support of a walker.

Wael Sameer, from  Taez - Yemen

Wael Sameer is 25-year old from Taez-Yemen. He suffered severe burn injuries all over his face and body in March 2011 during protests in Yemen.

‘’It was 3:00am in the morning when bombs directly targeted protesters. I was among them but my injury was one of the severe ones as I was in the centre of a protest circle. I was treated in Taez and also in Sana’a for severel months before arriving at the MSF project for reconstructive surgery in July 2014. So far, I have had 7 surgeries including skin grafts and planting of tissue expanders so the surgoens can grow more skin to cover the injured parts.

“I like the new MSF hospital as all medical activities including physiotherapy and OPD are all centralised in one building. This makes patient movements much easier and we also enjoy a bigger space for social activities in between surgeries.’’