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 21-year-old Abdullah Ayed lost one arm and badly damaged the other
when his home in Aden was hit by an explosive in 2017.
He spent weeks in a coma in a local hospital. When he woke, he
learned one of his arms had to be amputated while the other was
almost beyond repair.
"I wished for death, that would have been better than being like
this," said Ayed. "It was embarrassing to go out with my hand
amputated, especially still being young, I wanted to get married, I
wanted a job. But I did not lose my faith in God."
In August 2018, the international medical charity, Medecins Sans
Frontieres (MSF), sent Ayed to Amman for treatment and
rehabilitation.
The MSF reconstructive surgery program was set up in 2006, and aims
to help patients regain independence. Ayed was chosen to receive a
3D printed prosthetic.
Project supervisor, Samar Ismail, said 3D printed prosthetics are
faster to produce and much cheaper. The price for a 3D limb is
around 30$, while the more conventional limbs start at 200$ and can
go up to thousands of dollars.
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The light weight is also a huge advantage, Ismail added, which
enables patients to use them for longer.
So far, more than 20 limbs have been fitted to patients, from Gaza,
Iraq, Syria and Yemen.
Ayed said his prosthetic is life-changing. Though difficult to use
at first, therapy helped him regain skills such as tying his shoes
or putting on a shirt.
"I had lost hope in life, but now after training my mental state is
much better," he said.
He is practicing motor-skills that would enable him to work at a
laundromat. But his biggest dream is to be able to go back to Yemen,
get married and start a family.
"That's all I want, to go back home and for things to get better
there."
(Reporting by Bushra Shakhshir, Jehad Abu Shalbak and Mohammed
Ramahi; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
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