After three years in wheelchair, six-year-old boy walks again
sharjah — A six-year-old Nigerian boy has undergone life-changing spinal surgery at Zulekha Hospital in Sharjah that has enabled him to walk again after he was confined to a wheelchair for the past three years. The child, Ali, lost his ability to walk after suffering major trauma when he was run over during attacks by an extremist group in 2014.
The little boy had been experiencing pain that was progressing over the past three months. He was troubled with pain in the abdomen and the examination revealed kyphotic swelling in the lumbar area. He walked with a left side spasm and was unable to walk more than 10 metres.
Ali was flown from Nigeria to the UAE by Dickens Sanomi Foundation who collaborated with Global Initiative for Peace, Love and Care (GIPLC) in order to undergo the life-changing surgery. The boy survived the corrective surgery at Zulekha Hospital Sharjah and defied doctors’ belief by walking just seven days after the major surgery and has been deemed a ‘miracle child’.
Dr Nishith Bhargava, consultant neurosurgeon at Zulekha Hospital, Sharjah, described Ali as “a very strong boy who is determined to live”. “The complications were with respect to the accuracy required while operating on the small size of the child’s nerves and skeletal system. We had to take extensive care not to damage adjacent nerves to ensure healthy healing post-surgery. We are happy we managed it well and successfully completed the procedure.”
Immediately following the surgery, the boy was admitted to the hospital’s intensive care unit for 48 hours where his progress was closely monitored. After just seven days, the boy walked on his own accord and is continuing to make a speedy recovery.
Dr Bhargava continued: “It is usual that patients undergoing such a surgery would need intensive physiotherapy and at least three weeks to be able to walk again. Ali has blown us away with his rapid miraculous recovery.”
Managing director of Zulekha Healthcare Group Taher Shams said: “Our sincere gratitude to everyone involved in rescuing Ali and helping him regain his health. We are thrilled to have been able to be a part of Ali’s successful journey of recovery and wish him a long and happy life.”
“Young Ali’s recovery after surgery has been described as a miracle and very rapid, to everyone’s surprise,” said Hassan Hua of GIPLC.
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