A Deafening Silence for Initissar

In May 2017, Initissar was rushed to her local hospital in a small village about 100 km south of Cairo. She and her husband had thought that they had weeks before the arrival of their fourth child, Rawda, but at the hospital they were told there wasn’t even time to put Initissar under anesthesia.

During surgery, Initissar worried for Rawda’s life until finally, the tension broke when she heard her cry for the first time.

When the surgery was over, after what seemed like an eternity for Initissar, the doctor explained that Rawda had a cleft lip.

When Initissar finally saw Rawda for the first time, her overwhelming feeling wasn’t blame or anger — it was resolve. Initissar said, “We would sell everything we owned to get Rawda’s lip treated as soon as possible — nothing is going to stop us.”

Several weeks later, Initissar’s father brought Rawda to see Dr. Ghaffar at Abu El Reesh Hospital in Cairo. Dr. Ghaffar eased the family’s fears and told them there was no need to sell their possessions because Smile Train Partner Kids Hospital would provide corrective surgery free of charge.

When Initissar and Rawda finally arrived at Smile Train Partner Kids Hospital, Initissar was full of worries. She wondered: “Would such a young child survive anesthesia?” However, Smile Train partner surgeon Dr. Mamdouh was there to walk her through the steps, and help ease her fears every step of the way.

Then, in less than an hour, all the pain and worry were gone. Initissar held Rawda in the surgical recovery room. She said, “When I first saw my daughter, I thanked God for all the good people who came our way.”

Today, Rawda is a happy and healthy toddler who wears a constant smile. Initissar says, “I want to thank Smile Train and Dr. Mamdouh. You stood by us during a difficult time. God protect you and all the children you help.”

Images and portions of text provided by HUMAN™.