Ahmed*, 15 years old, lives in Iraq together with his extended family. Diagnosed with cerebral palsy, both of his heel chords are shortened, a common side-effect of the lifelong movement disorder. Unfortunately, his abnormal gait has brought him much shame within his community.
When we first met Ahmed he was mainly walking on his tiptoes, with his legs slightly inwardly rotated. We started by simply giving him physical therapy exercises to improve his gait, and frequently spoke words of encouragement, reminding him of his infinite value. Over the course of a few weeks, we observed small steps of improvement, but also realised that he would greatly benefit from surgery on his shortened heel chords.
A surgical intervention was made possible through Operation Mercy’s partnership with another non-profit that performs orthopaedic surgeries on people who don’t have the means to pay for such treatment.
Ahmed’s surgery was performed in late March 2024, and soon thereafter he was able to return to his hometown. Our physical therapist and local nurse and case worker then started follow-up treatments. They visited Ahmed and his family weekly for wound care management and to instruct him on how to do his post-surgical exercises.
In May, the casts on both sides were removed and the process of the actual physical therapy rehabilitation started. In the meantime, Ahmed has received careful instructions on how to strengthen his core body and his lower extremity, as well as how to stretch his heel chords to prevent them from tightening up again. During the last couple of weeks, Ahmed’s gait and posture have significantly improved. His mother told us that prior to the surgery, Ahmed would often refuse to go on visits to relatives because he was too ashamed to do so - but this is not the case anymore. He now feels free to go out of the house and on visits thanks to his newly-discovered confidence.
Our current goal for Ahmed is for him to be secure and confident enough in walking so that he can return to school and finish his education. We believe that this is only the beginning of an encouraging journey for Ahmed and his entire family.
