Several dozen people have also died from starvation in Madaya, despite surrendering in exchange for relief from the siege. With almost nothing and no one allowed in or out, the town continues slowly dying from the inside.
At Malaya's "field hospital" whose medical staff consists of two heroic dental students and an animal veterinarian, Ghina was diagnosed with a displaced fracture, a badly shattered leg bone and a severed nerve in her upper left thigh.
Before long, Ghina's leg and thigh became badly infected and a tentative decision was taken to amputate it. As one of the MDs reported at the time via "What'sUP" to medical colleagues abroad, Madaya's health workers today are only able to perform emergency surgery, mainly amputations. As Dr. Darwish, a dentistry student and one of three health professional still in Madaya insisted, they did not have the equipment or the training to repair the damage to Ghina's leg and thigh. However, amputation of Ghina's leg was something they could perform. Time was running out for Ghina shown below shortly after she was evacuated from Madaya to Al-Mouwasat Hospital, Damascus
Madaya's severely wounded, like Ghina, have only one way to get out of the besieged town and thru the 65 checkpoints, countless landmines and snipers, and to receive the lifesaving treatment they need. It is through a painstakingly negotiated reciprocal agreement between rebel and regime forces, brokered by Iran and the United Nations last year. In theory it provides for the evacuation of some wounded people from Sunni Madaya in exchange for a parallel evacuation from two Idlib Shia towns of Foah, and Kafraya, besieged by rebel forces.
Unfortunately, there are a number of additional bureaucratic hurdles which result in very few in need of urgent medical aid being allowed to leave Madaya through one of the 65 checkpoints which also surround adjacent Zabadani. A major hurdle is avoiding being shot by snipers that regularly shoot residents if they approach Madaya's periphery from any direction.
Fortunately in Ghina's case, as with the case of the conjoined twins from the Damascus suburb of East Ghouta, Nawas and Moaz (the subjects of Part II of this article) a social media campaign led by Amnesty International pressurized the powers that be to allow the Syrian Red Crescent Society (SACRS) to enter Madaya at night, so as not to attract the attention of many other families with severely injured members who surely would demand evacuation for their loved ones in critical condition. SACRS rescued the girls and moved them for urgent emergency medical intervention. Thus saving Ghina's leg.
The metal rods must remain deep inside Ghina's leg and thigh for three months and she must stay in a hospital bed for two months. The sniper bullets were designed to explode on impact and they did much nerve and muscle damage. (Photo: fplamb 8/27/2016)
(Image by Frank Lamb) Details DMCA
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