Segann March

segann.march@shreveporttimes.com

A 5-year-old Gazan boy received a life-changing miracle in Shreveport last month.

On April 18, Farid Sallout underwent a 14-hour craniofacial surgery at Willis-Knighton South.

"He was calm and didn't ask many questions," said his grandmother Haijar Abusilmi."It took him two days to fully recover. I put everything in God's hands, and they told me before I got here that the doctors were great and everyone here was great."

LSU Health Shreveport doctors diagnosed the boy with orbital hypertelorism — when a person's eyes are too far apart — bilateral clefting — missing tissue on each side of the nose — and posterior cranial defect — a rare medical condition in which a portion of the skull is missing. He's had the cranial and facial defects since birth.

Sallout remains in Shreveport and doctors continue to monitor his progress.

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"There's nothing between his skin and brain, there's no skull in the back of his head," said David Yates, a cleft and craniofacial surgery fellow at LSU Health Shreveport. "It's super dangerous. These deformities I've never seen before and are very rare, especially together."

Yates said there is no clear explanation for Sallout's medical deformities, but family members believe it could've been caused by tear gas during his mother's pregnancy.

"He's intelligent and has no other health issues," he said. "All of the surgeries have gone really well."

The Palestine Children's Relief Fund — a non-political tax-exempt organization specializing in assisting Palestinian children in the Middle East through medical and humanitarian deeds — helped fund the trip for Sallout and his grandmother. The organization's funding comes from private donations from around the world.

His older brother also suffers from the same medical conditions and may travel to the U.S. next year for surgery. PCRF sends between 60 to 80 children to other countries for medical treatment each year, with the U.S. being the predominant country.

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His parents were unable to travel with him due to a law regarding traveling out of the country under the age of 55, said PCRF Patient Affairs Coordinator Dunia Saed. The organization reached out to first year fellow at LSU Health Shreveport Rabie Shanti, who then followed up with Dr. G.E. Ghali.

"Some kids like Farid need very complicated surgeries," Saed said. "He was lucky enough to have the opportunity to come to Shreveport and have his surgery."

In the 2014 attack on Gaza, his home was bombed, Saed said.

Abusilmi said the bombing destroyed the top of the family's house.

"It'll never be the same after war, it's made everything a little more difficult," Abusilmi said. "“All the houses were destroyed and a lot of people live in the refugee camps.”

Saed said medical care in Gaza is limited. PCRF reaches out to hospitals and doctors around the world to best suit the needs of the children.

"In Gaza, this treatment cannot be done — there's no way. Any doctor there will tell you 'we cannot help this child,'' she said. "They don't have the means, training, equipment or ability to do it. We knew if we were going to help this boy that he had to leave the country."

The organizations arranges travel for the child and accompanying adult. Treatment, housing, visas and hospital choice is also arranged through PCRF. His host mom, Sara Alatrash, said he's had a blast visiting Shreveport, but deeply misses home.

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Saed said Sallout has been strong without his parents by his side.

"Not a tear or a cry — he's the strongest and bravest little boy that we've probably sent out," she said. "He knew he was here to feel better. We definitely see a number of cases throughout the year that are similar to his, some more severe, but it's not that common to see."

Willis-Knighton Health System paid for the medical expenses, totaling to approximately $250,000, Yates said.