In many countries the earthquakes or quakes They are not something new, they even have their history with these unexpected movements of the earth. Yet each earthshaking is a heartbreaking chapter, sample is a small girl survivor of the earthquake in Syria, which has to face a fate that is moving the hearts of the entire world.
The struggle of a girl who is at risk of being amputated became a symbol of hope and the subsequent heartbreak that Syria has experienced since the earthquake on February 6. Sham was rescued alive after being trapped under rubble for 40 hours but she could lose both legs due to tissue damage.
The nine-year-old girl, like many survivors of the magnitude 7.8 earthquake, which killed more than 44,000 people in Turkey and Syria, is now suffering from what doctors call crush syndrome.
AFP’s photo
What is crush syndrome?
It occurs in limbs that have been deprived of blood circulation for too long and begins with severe pain in the affected limb. In these cases, the muscle fibers die and pass into the bloodstreamsometimes causing renal failure.
At first, the patients appear to be in good shape but then deteriorate. “It’s what we call ‘the smile of death'”, says orthopedic surgeon Tarek Mustafa, explaining that it can cause cardiac and other life-threatening complications.
Sham had been congratulated for her bravery after humming a tune alongside her White Helmets rescuers, who worked for six hours to free her from the concrete. The scenes, captured on images, went viral on the internet. “Hearing it gave us strength,” Mohamed Nasredine, one of the group’s volunteers, told AFP, recalling how they hummed the melody called “Damascus” together.
“Our joy was indescribable when it came out,” says Nasreddine, whose White Helmets group became famous for freeing people from bombed-out buildings in rebel-held regions of the country throughout the Syrian civil war.
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What are the risks of amputation?
“Sham is one of several patients suffering from the crush syndrome and that they were admitted to hospitals in the region,” says Dr. Mustafa.
Health services in the rebel-held Idlib region reported at least 100 such cases. Many are traumatized children, some shocked by the loss of one or both parents in the tragedy.
Sham’s mother and sister were killed when the building where the family lived collapsed in the city of Armanaz, in the northwestern province of Idlib. Her father and her two brothers too they survived.
The family he had moved there in 2019 after fleeing a military offensive by the Russian-backed Syrian regime, which has regained control of most of the country’s territory since the war began in 2011.
Sham’s possible leg amputations have been postponed for the time being, but he is still not safe, says Dr. Mustafa, who works at one of the hospitals run by the Syrian American Medical Society in the northwest.
AFP’s photo
When the White Helmets learned that Sham was at risk of losing both legs, they tweeted asking supporters to pray for her and other survivors fighting against it. syndrome.
“I remember how I worked to free her legs and tears come to my eyes. She reminds me of my five-year-old daughter,” says another rescuer from the group.Ziad Hamdi.
In the video you can hear him promise Sham qHe would take her to an amusement park if she could hold out a little longer. “I want to wear nice clothes,” the girl happily replies. “I want to be a princess,” she adds.
“She is ingenious, I did not expect such a response” from a girl who is fighting for her life, Hamdi emphasizes. “She made a promise. I’ll take her and buy her whatever she wants,” she stresses.
With information from the AFP agency