Libyan woman walks again after treatment in Turkey

By Ugur Aslanhan

ISTANBUL (AA) – A wheelchair-bound Libyan woman walked again, thanks to the treatment she received at the Medipol Mega University Hospital in Istanbul.

Esma Amer, 40, was using wheelchair over past two and half years, after she was injured in her leg in an armed attack in the conflict ridden North African country.

After 10 failed surgeries, the doctors in her country had recommended amputation of the injured leg that had also contracted infection.

"I was told to go to Turkey for recovery, doctors [in Libya] told me that they could not save my leg," she told Anadolu Agency on Tuesday.

Amer’s life was devastated in 2017. An armed attack killed her husband and child. She survived, but with multiple injuries. The worst affected was her leg.

She sought treatment in Libya for her broken and infected leg for one and a half years, but of no avail. Finally, she decided to come to Turkey for treatment.

"I've been on a wheelchair for two and a half years, I was not able to do even simplest activities," Amer said.

Upon reaching Turkey, she said, doctors at the hospital told her to have patience, as they will recover her leg.

"I told him that I trust Allah first and then you."

After stepping her foot on the ground and taking steps, an emotional Amer said it was captivating to feel like being born again.

“I felt as resuming life afresh, when I started walking. I felt I was reborn,” she added.

Amer's doctor Adnan Kara at the Istanbul Hospital said they conducted five successful surgeries to save her leg from being amputated.

"When she came to us, she could not walk. There was infection, broken bone and joint problems in her leg. It was in worst condition," said Dr Kara, specialist in orthopedics and traumatology.

Elaborating on the treatment, the doctor said the process took around 10 months. “After two and a half years, she is able to walk on her own,” said the jubilant doctor.

Kara said Turkey has a great success rate in curing patients. He said many Europeans were also preferring to get treated at Turkish hospitals.

"We have patients from Germany, Italy... Those who see Turkey's success rate of conducting this kind of operation, want to come to Turkey. We are good in this field," said the doctor.

*Writing by Dilara Hamit and Burak Bir