Yusif, 11, was just five when he was bitten on the arm by a snake while playing outside with friends in his hometown of Mariba Town, Southern District, Sierra Leone.
A boy's arm was left severely deformed after he was bitten by a venomous snake while playing football.
Yusif, 11, was just five when he was bitten on the arm by a snake while playing outside with friends in his hometown of Mariba Town, Southern District, Sierra Leone. It caused a large amount of the tissue on his right arm to die and over time his arm grew more deformed – causing his wrist to be severely bent inwards.
Yusif's mother, Mariama, saved up to afford to take her son to a doctor – but was told his painful, unusable hand needed amputating. Years on, Mariama heard the Mercy Ship – the Global Mercy – would be arriving in Sierra Leone, providing free surgeries to people unable to access healthcare.
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Yusif underwent two operations to release his contracted limb and then insert a pin through his wrist to keep it straight. Now he has full use of his arm again.
The ambitious schoolboy now has his sights set on becoming a doctor – so he can help others the way doctors helped him. Mariama said: "Before his surgery Yusif felt ashamed and became very shy.
"He would hide his arm inside his shirt all the time, so it started to bend that way. When I saw Yusif’s hand straight, I was so happy. We both hugged with beautiful smiles. Then Yusif said 'Mummy, see my hand.'"
After being bitten, Yusif's arm bruised and blistered up to his elbow, causing him intense pain. There was no ambulance from his rural village, so a traditional healer gave him some herbs to swallow.
But what he had really needed was antibiotics and, as a result, the tissues in the area all died and the arm contracted, deforming the limb. When Mariama eventually saved up enough to take her son to a medical doctor, they said the arm couldn't be saved.
She said: “The doctor saw Yusif’s hand and said that the hand must be cut off. I refused to cut Yusif’s hand off.” But Mariama had to watch her son grow up with a painful, unusable arm and she often cried seeing her little boy struggling.
Seven years after his injury, when she heard the world's largest charity hospital ship would be docking in their country, she was thrilled. Yusif underwent a complex three-hour operation on October 18, 2023, on board the Global Mercy to release the contracture on his elbow and wrist. A second, follow-up surgery on November 8 to put a pin in his wrist to to maintain the straightness, concluded the operations.
Following the surgeries, Yusif began a long and often painful process of rehabilitation on board the Global Mercy with volunteer hand therapists. For three months the team worked closely with Yusif to help him gain control of his elbow, wrist and fingers.
Mercy Ships volunteer surgeon, Tertius Venter – who operated on Yusif – said: "With appropriate, early treatment, and antibiotics to stop infection, the limb could have been saved. But in Yusif’s case, he did not have access to proper treatment, so it caused widespread tissue death and infection."
Mariama was overjoyed when she saw the transformation in her son and the smiles on his face. Now, with a strong right arm, Yusif can return to school and enjoy life like other little boys his age. He said: "I was not able to do anything before with my hand, but now I can do everything. I can help my mum, I can play football, and go to school without feeling ashamed. I want to become a doctor. Because I want to help people like how Mercy Ships helped me.”
Sourse: www.mirror.co.uk
