The maimed 12-year-old Iraqi boy who came to Taiwan for treatment in late October will get an artificial hand and leg, the hospital where he is being treated said yesterday.
Khaldon-Kh-Thiab lost his right hand and left foot in a US bombing raid during the recent war in Iraq. His right thumb remained intact but he has no fingers, and his left leg was amputated from the knee at an Iraqi hospital.
The Eden Social Welfare Foundation arranged for the boy and his father to come to Taiwan. He is scheduled to stay here for two months for treatment at the Far Eastern Memorial Hospital (亞東醫院)
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
The hospital said that, after discussions with the father and the son, the medical team would keep Khaldon-Kh-Thiab's right thumb and provide an artificial hand with four fingers. Originally the hospital also suggested giving up the right thumb and giving him a mechanical hand so the boy could have better movement, but the father rejected this option because he was worried about what it would look like.
The hospital will also give Khaldon-Kh-Thiab an artificial leg that is extendable so he can continue to use it as he grows up.
Khaldon-Kh-Thiab has already started light rehabilitation. When he first came he could only sit in the wheelchair, but yesterday he put on the artificial leg and could walk for a little with assistance. He also did not shy from the media as he did when he first arrived.
"I am really happy and I like my artificial leg," he said.
"I hope I can return home soon to show my family and friends my new leg."
He was also given a digital camera as a present yesterday, and he immediately used the camera to shoot the reporters around him, using his right thumb to push the shutter.
"I really like Taiwan and I want to shoot Taiwan's scenery so I can share it with people back home," he said.
His father said that there were many more Iraqi children who suffered similar injuries and he hoped those children will get help as well.
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