Palestinian girl journeys across the world for surgery

Naba'a Rabaia, 9, traveled alone from Mayathaloni, Jenin, West Bank for surgery to repair a Developmental Dysplasia of the hip. She was photographed Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017, in Richmond. Naba'a Rabaia, 9, traveled alone from Mayathaloni, Jenin, West Bank for surgery to repair a Developmental Dysplasia of the hip. She was photographed Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017, in Richmond. Photo: Steve Gonzales, Houston Chronicle Photo: Steve Gonzales, Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 15 Caption Close Palestinian girl journeys across the world for surgery 1 / 15 Back to Gallery

Nine-year-old Naba'a Rabaia packed a small suitcase filled with memories of her West Bank village to journey halfway across the world to Houston for surgery that will grant her the possibility of a pain-free life.

Dozens of Houston's Palestinian community members and their friends gathered to welcome Naba'a on Sunday at a clubhouse in Richmond ready with games from musical chairs to volleyball, and she joined in to play.

Omar Jaber, president of the Houston chapter for Palestine Children's Relief Fund and a pediatrician, said Naba'a traveled for the first time by herself and stayed with a host family before going to Dallas to be with a relative until her September surgery.

"She's a really interesting child," Jaber said. "She only speaks Arabic, so the host family is able to speak Arabic with her."

Unlike her twin brother, the girl was born with developmental dysplasia of the hip that, if left untreated, can compromise her mobility and could lead to life-threatening repercussions.

"If she doesn't have the surgery, the pain will get worse," Jaber said. "The stability of her hip will be compromised as she grows older. When she reaches puberty, her hips are going to get wider, and there is potential for the femur bone to slip out."

'Trying to help'

Naba'a described her first plane ride as terrifying, an adventure she thought she would never experience.

"I was scared but also tired," Naba'a said. "It was so long sitting in one chair. We stopped in Jordan before I came here."

The girl, who arrived in Houston on July 3, is one of many patients, including children, from other nations who travel to world-renowned Houston medical facilities.

Jaber said many of the children his group has hosted in Houston come from Lebanon, Syria and Palestine.

"Naba'a will be the ninth child we sponsor," Jaber said. "All of this is based on volunteer efforts - even the connection to the Texas Orthopedic Hospital. They've sponsored her as well."

Alfred Mansour, pediatric orthopedic director at UT Health with a practice focus in sports and hip preservation, will conduct Naba'a's surgery at the Texas Orthopedic Hospital.

Naba'a's surgery date has not been finalized but is expected to take place mid-September.

"I didn't think much more, and I'm happy to help. If your talent matches with someone's need, it's great to make a difference," Mansour said.

Mansour stressed that this was made possible because of an entire team that worked tirelessly and volunteered their time to make sure that children like Naba'a receive the care they need.

"It's a lot of people really going out of their way to cure a girl they didn't know until she got here," Mansour said. "It's a really cool story about human kindness and trying to help somebody. We wake up and go to work to try and make a difference."

'Now a family'

The Palestine Children's Relief Fund was founded by Steve Sosebee, a journalist who worked in the West Bank for the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs in 1988.

Sosebee met a little boy in the West Bank in need of care and reached out to the connections he made in his home state of Ohio. He was then able to secure the boy the surgery he needed.

PCRF, headquartered in Ohio, has since launched 40 chapters across the world to help provide medical attention to children as well as medical missions and the training of personnel in underprivileged areas.

Greg Stocks, an orthopedic surgeon with Fondren Orthopedic Group, traveled to the West Bank in 2011 and each summer until 2015 to train doctors in the West Bank to help develop a stronger team of surgeons available to residents.

On Sunday, Naba'a sat hunched in a chair alongside Shifa Abuzaid, a PCRF coordinator and recent University of Houston graduate, to play Naba'a's favorite American game, thumb war.

Abuzaid said any time someone tries to greet Naba'a with a handshake, she instantly yanks their hand to declare thumb war.

"The Houston community is phenomenal, just going from complete strangers to now a family." Abuzaid said. "I've met hundreds of people through PCRF in just the last short few months that actually care about a girl they just met."