The child Sham during her transfer for treatment in Turkey
Turkey earthquake
The 9-year-old Syrian girl suffers from “crushing limbs” syndrome because she spent 40 hours under the rubble.
On Thursday evening, the local authorities in northern Syria transferred the child, Sham al-Sheikh Muhammad, and her brother to Turkey for treatment, following they, like many survivors of the earthquake, suffered from “crushing limbs” syndrome, according to an AFP correspondent and two local officials.
Sham and her brother Omar are the first victims of the earthquake to be transferred from areas outside the control of Damascus to receive treatment outside the country, according to Mazen Alloush, the official at the Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey.
At the Bab al-Hawa crossing, an AFP correspondent saw two ambulances entering from the Turkish side to receive the two children, who were accompanied by their father and aunt.
Sham (9 years old) spent 40 hours under the rubble following the collapse of her house and the roof falling on her legs. According to the doctors who are taking care of her, she faces the risk of amputation of her legs at the level of the legs, and she is also at risk of heart and kidney problems.
Muhammad al-Sheikh Muhammad, the father of the two children, said, “Sham’s condition is critical,” noting that Omar (15 years old) was also injured in his legs.
Shadi Haj Hussein, an official in the “Ministry of Health” affiliated with the “Salvation Government”, which manages the affairs of the area under the control of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, explained that the transfer of Sham and her brother came following examining their health conditions, especially Sham, who is in a critical situation.
He told “Agence France Presse” that “Sham’s condition is medically difficult and needs more accuracy in treatment and several specialties and consultations,” noting that following reviewing her and her brother’s conditions, “coordination took place with the Ministry of Health on the Turkish side… and the response came to us today.”
The child Sham during her transfer for treatment in Turkey
The earthquake that hit Syria and neighboring Turkey, killing more than 43,000 people in both countries, destroyed the house of the child’s family in the city of Armanaz in the northwestern countryside of Idlib, killing her mother and sister, while she survived with two of her brothers and her father.
A video clip documenting the rescue of Sham was published on social media, in which she appeared lying under the rubble, talking to the rescue personnel, asking for a bottle of water and suggesting to them how it might be pulled, or singing a song bearing her name with them.
The White Helmets, the Civil Defense in areas outside Damascus’ control, published a tweet last week, asking for “prayers for Sham and the many people affected by the earthquake, who suffer from a medical condition called Crush Syndrome.”
Doctors working in northwest Syria explain that Sham’s situation is similar to the cases of several people they received following the earthquake that claimed the lives of 3,688 people in five Syrian governorates.
For his part, a Syrian government source told AFP on Thursday morning that the Syrian authorities in Damascus “provided the treatment of six Syrian children with mash syndrome in the UAE.”
He pointed out that the authorities suggested that Sham be transferred for treatment abroad, but her request was rejected, which was denied by the hospital administration where she was receiving treatment.