New Delhi:
Twenty eight-year-old Falah Mehmood from Iraq is finally able to walk upright and without pain. A soldier in the Iraqi Army, Falah was living with a piece of missile in his spine which got lodged there during a battle in 2003. It was seven long years of acute pain and suffering for him.
Falah has been in and out of hospitals in Baghdad, but neither could he walk properly, nor be free of the pain. The miracle was finally made possible by doctors in India.
"I had continuous discharge, severe pain, and problems in walking," says Falah.
Earlier this month, Falah decided to come to India for treatment. In what is being considered a uniquely successful surgery, the piece of missile was removed from his spine.
"On July 8 we operated him and found that the missile piece was very close to nerve roots. So we went laterally, drilled the bone and took out the piece from the other side," says Dr Alok Gupta, senior consultant, Neurology, Metro Hospital.
Doctors say Falah's recovery after the neuro-surgery has been unusually quick. He started walking within two days.
In a few weeks, Falah is hoping to return home and join his family business, picking up the pieces of a life interrupted.