Had A Bad Day? - Think Again

We were not looking forward to being without family on Christmas Day, it would be a first for us. Dr. Lynn Martell, who leads our support group, invited all patients and their support people to come to his house for Christmas dinner. He didn't want anyone to be alone, without family, on Christmas. This is the ninth year that he has done this.

There are usually 60-85 people there and this year it was about 80 I think. He had tables set up everywhere in the house - even in the master bath! (The house is about 4,000 sq. ft and beautiful) We ate in the master bedroom with 16 other people.

But I digress, besides the nice food, friends and music that was there we got the added bonus of bringing a very courageous and determined young man to the dinner party. His name is Malek Mohammed, he is 18 and from Afghanistan. If you think you have had a bad day think of Malek.

When he was 15 he went out one day to gather firewood for his family. He spied some dried brush in a field and gingerly stepped off the road to get it. There was an explosion, then another. Malek had stepped on a mine which blew his leg off and him up in the air and when he came down he landed on another mine which blew off his other leg. He laid in the field for 20-30 minutes listening to dogs and thinking they were coming to eat him.

Finally some soldiers came to investigate the blasts and found Malek. But he was in shock and confused and couldn't come to them and they couldn't risk hitting another mine. They threw a cloth to Malek which he put between his teeth as his hands and legs were nonfunctional and they dragged him out of the field.

From there he went to a hospital that amputated his legs . A few months later, Foreign Service officer Mark Ward was visiting the hospital when he noticed Malek. The young man had strapped on his prosthetic legs and began staggering across the room and with every step, the jagged remnants of his femurs cut into his skin. With all the horrors of war that Ward had seen somehow he was greatly affected by this one life and got involved. He worked on getting Malek into a U.S. hospital, eventually persuading Loma Linda University Medical Center to accept him.

He arrived Nov 3, 2007 three years after stepping on the mines. Since then he has undergone extensive surgeries at Loma Linda to smooth his leg bones, remove shrapnel from his arms and treat burns on his chest. He has also been outfitted with new prosthetic legs. He just (last week) underwent his last surgery in L.A. (because they couldn't do it here at LLUMC) and should go home in the spring. When he first got his legs, he walked home pushing his wheelchair.

He arrived here shy and speaking no English. In the last year he has learned much English, is learning Spanish, found friends, become more outgoing, learned to use a computer, attends school, works out daily at the Drayson Center including basketball and has had his eyes opened to the world.

He was afraid of the water and didn't know how to swim when he arrived and is now an avid swimmer. This spring he competed in a triathlon at Loma Linda University, earning medals in swimming and the wheelchair race. He also participated in the Redlands Bicycle Classic alongside other athletes in wheelchairs.

His physical recovery has been remarkable - but the biggest changes may have taken place in his mind. Malek says that "before life was simple. The only thing to worry about was food on the table, working and going to sleep. I'm OK with simple living, but I want to increase the quality of my life. I want an education."

His current goal is to return to Afghanistan in the spring, continue with school while working in a hospital, come back to Loma Linda for college and become a doctor to help other people. (Loma Linda is sponsoring him for a private school in Kabul).

When Malek first arrived, he was accompanied by a chaperon/translator. But the older Afghan returned home in May, leaving Malek to live alone in a small university-owned apartment near the Loma Linda campus. He says, "I feel lonely, but because I have a goal and because I am going to get a better life, I can handle it."

He says "When I was young, I wanted to fight, but I'm different now. I will talk to family and say war is no good. We need to build a better society, but I am kind of scared to go back and I fight with that fear."

We had such an enjoyable night getting to know this tremendous young man with a sparkle in his eyes and a big smile on his face.

WE DON'T HAVE BAD DAYS!

(credit for last 2 pictures go the LA Times)