Syrian father asks Israeli doctors: Save my son, he's all I have left
Rambam Medical Center in Haifa preforms brain surgery to rescue Syrian child wounded by explosion; mother, brother die in Syria.
By JPOST.COM STAFFWOUNDED SYRIANS are treated at this Israeli field hospital on the Golan Heights.(photo credit: REUTERS)
Rambam Medical Center in Haifa performed life-saving brain surgery on a Syrian child, releasing him this week, the hospital announced Thursday.After arriving at the hospital in critical condition from Syria, the child's father told doctors, "Please save him, he's all I have left."According to a press release, the child was released earlier this week on his own feet and walking.A month and a half ago, the family's home was leveled, killing the boy's mother and sister.The child was evacuated with his eleven year old brother and father to the border and from there to the Rambam Medical Center. The brother died en-route to the hospital.The boy was immediately rushed into surgery upon arriving at the hospital. The force of the explosion had caused severe swelling of the brain, leading to severe intra-cranial pressure which needed to be relieved by removing parts of the skull. The removal of parts from the boy's skull made room for his swollen brain while it healed.The child was unconscious for nearly three weeks in the pediatric intensive care ward, carefully monitored by the staff, while the pressure was slowly reduced. The boy finally regained consciousness and began to communicate.“When the child came to Rambam he was comatose and almost dead,” said Dr. Sergey Abeshaus, a Senior Neurosurgeon at Rambam, who also performed the surgery. “I remember I met with the father before surgery and he said to us, 'Do all you can to save him, he is all I have left.'”After undergoing two more surgeries to reattach the bones in his skull, the boy was moved to the pediatric surgery unit. A speech therapist, nose-ear-throat specialist, physiotherapist and others then worked with him via a variety of exams and therapies to help him regain as much normal function as possible. Three days ago he was released into his father’s care, standing on his feet.“As the only Level 1 trauma center for Northern Israel, and one of the largest hospitals in the country, Rambam has a lot of experience dealing with these types of injuries,” Dr. Abeshaus stated.
The doctor added, "We parted from the child's father as good friends. Eventually we did exactly as he had asked—we did all we could do to save [his son]. We hope he has a very long and happy life.”
