A little Moroccan kid who was born without a nose, eyes, or a mouth that worked has been given a new lease on life after undergoing extensive reconstructive surgery. He is now three years old.
Yayha El Jabaly was born unable to talk, without eyes, with a hole in his skull for his nose, and with an inverted upper jaw because his bone development was delayed while he was still in the womb. It is very uncommon, and the vast majority of children do not survive pregnancy.
After a lady from Melbourne made contact with the boy’s family, the Sunday Night show in Australia continued to follow the story after it broke.
According to the Independent, Fatima Baraka, who now lives in Melbourne, was born in the vicinity of Yayha’s little town, which is located near Tangiers.
After the family of Yayha had been unsuccessful in their search for a surgeon in Morocco, they posted an appeal on Facebook, which Ms. Baraka reacted to. She was successful in locating an Australian surgeon, Professor Tony Holmes of the Melbourne Royal Children’s Hospital, who was ready to do the delicate operation.
“I believe that it’s the right of everybody to look human, and this kid doesn’t look human,” Dr. Holmes said in an interview with Channel 7.
Ms. Baraka organized a fundraising campaign to cover the costs of the operation and traveled to Morocco to bring the El Jabaly family to Australia. Prior to the procedure, Dr. Holmes confessed that he had some reservations.
“Yayha may not die if we don’t operate, but he might if we do,” he said in an interview with Channel 7 in the United Kingdom.
“This is cranio-facial neurosurgery at its most extreme.”
Yayha’s surplus skin was used to fashion a new nose for him, and cartilage will be added to it via cosmetic surgery. He is now having speech therapy in addition to getting a replacement upper jaw. Dr. Holmes said that Yayha’s parents were at a loss for words.
Soon, Yayha and his family will go back to Morocco, and once there, Yayha may or may not enroll in a school designed specifically for visually impaired children there.
