MUHAMMED’S CASE

As do most ordinary five year old children, Muhammed loved Mickey Mouse and football. He was a very active child, who was always on the move. His house was usually crowded. He lived in Nablus (some 40 kilometres away from Jerusalem, in Palestinian controlled territory) with his grandparents, his parents and five siblings. Together, these 10 people shared the only two bedrooms of the house: that’s what 200 odd monthly Euros could pay. It was all Muhammed’s father could provide.

Things were tight in the household; however, on the 1st of February 2009, no one was around to take care of the child. While Muhammed’s mother was cooking, she heard a loud thud coming from the staircase. Terrified, she ran towards the sound and found her child unconscious, bleeding on the floor. He had plunged down the five meter tall staircase leading to the building. There had never been a handrail to protect him. Muhammed was immediately taken to a nearby hospital in Nablus, where the doctors performed a craniotomy. He spent 10 days in a coma, before starting to gradually improve. His mother was very relieved when he woke up. Although he had suffered some evident motor skill coordination damage that had affected his movement, he could speak and think regularly.

When Muhammed was admitted into the Bethlehem Arab Society for Rehabilitation (BASR) on the 3rd of March 2009, he was in fair general condition, but had serious trouble with balance (he couldn’t yet stand alone) and was still completely dependent for all functional activities. He then began an intensive rehabilitation program which had been especially adapted for children, consisting mainly of games, dancing and swimming, as well as standard therapy.

Currently Muhammed continues to follow the plan developed by BASR. The hospital has allowed his mother to stay by his side in the centre. He is now independent in all functional activities, and thanks to an orthopaedic device has started walking on his own.