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PATIENT TESTIMONIAL : Nasir Al-Ta’ee
Nasir is 37 years old. He lives with his wife and six children in the district of Babylone south of Baghdad. He earns a living doing odd jobs. In January he found himself standing five metres from two people who blew themselves up in a market. Six months later, Nasir has undergone reconstructive surgery in Amman. “About thirty people were killed on the spot or died later in hospital from their injuries. They were in front of me. It was them that protected me. Like me, 120 people were wounded in the suicide bombing. I was burned all along my entire right side, from head to toe. My back was also burnt. I woke up, after four days in a coma, in a hospital where the hygiene was terrible. That’s why the doctors advised me to leave, fearing for my health. So I was transferred to a private hospital that was better suited to treating my wounds. I stayed there a month, which cost me 1.5 million dinars (about 1200 US dollars). I had an operation on my chin and lip, and then I went home. After that, I returned to Baghdad Central Hospital regularly. I got medicines there, but they were very expensive. That’s where a doctor told me about a group of doctors who could send me out of the country for facial reconstructive surgery. In Baghdad there is the choice between a public hospital that offers free medical care but that can no longer provide this type of specialized operation, and a private hospital that is very expensive. In all, I waited six months before being able to come to Amman for my operation. I arrived on August 3, and I was operated on six days later. I’m doing much better now, but it is still painful to eat and drink.
I also hear a permanent buzzing in my ears. The doctors don’t know
if this will improve. I want to return to Iraq. My wife couldn’t
come with me because of the cost of the trip and security problems, especially
getting to the airport. You never know what’s going to happen.”
» Back to the Jordan / Iraq Project Profile index
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