Helping Hands appeal leads to ecstatic couple getting free surgery for son

Immediately after The National published a Helping Hand case of a Syrian couple whose son was born with a cleft lip and palate, Al Ain’s Oasis Hospital reached out and offered to perform the life-changing surgery for free.

The little boy has been offered free surgery after his plight was highlighted in The National last month. Satish Kumar / The National

ABU DHABI // Al Ain's Oasis Hospital has offered to perform the life-changing surgery for free after The National published a Helping Hands appeal for a Syrian couple whose son was born with a cleft lip and palate.

Last month, the couple said hospitals in the UAE informed them it would cost at least Dh60,000 to repair the boy’s lip, nose and soft palate.

More surgery will be needed to fix his hard palate in a few years.

“There was no way I could ever afford it,” said the father, a mechanical engineer from Syria.

He was told his newborn should undergo a cleft palate repair in March to prevent complications.

“I was desperate and didn’t know what to do. My insurance doesn’t cover the costs and if I saved and borrowed money from everyone, I still wouldn’t be able to afford it.” Oasis Hospital contacted the couple after the article was published and offered to perform the operation for free, he said.

“Me and my wife couldn’t believe it. It was such a shock and it was too good to be true,” he said.

President of Oasis Hospital, Trey Hulsey, said the operation would take place in Kenya, at a sister hospital, and the family’s expenses would be covered.

“We chose Kenya because our surgeons there do between 20 and 25 cleft palate and lip repairs a week. They are all certified and from the United States. Kenya is also the closest and easy to go to,” said Mr Hulsey.

This will be the second time the hospital has sent a Syrian child to Kenya for surgery.

“We had a similar case last year of a Syrian boy with a cleft lip and palate. We sent the family to Kenya and the operation was a success,” said Mr Hulsey.

By the end of next month, a team from Oasis Hospital will also go to Yemen to perform free surgery for Yemenis.

“We try hard to be part of what the UAE does and we know that the UAE is working very hard to help make Yemen a stable, comfortable, safe place,” said Mr Hulsey.

“We were there in November and the people there are in desperate need of medical care. We know the war is at the front of everyone’s mind but what about all the other things like children who are born with crooked legs or cleft lips? Do we tell them we are sorry that you are born that way but wait till the war has ended so we can help you? Or do we tell them that we are willing to come help now and you can start a normal life sooner?”

The hospital often does such trips and Lebanon and Yemen are the latest in a long history of international charity work.