Gaza Amputee Gets New Leg (Video)

 
A teenager from Palestine walks for the first time with a leg donated by a Federal Way prosthetist.

Dana RebikWeb Reporter
October 1, 2009

Federal Way – A teenage amputee from Gaza is taking his first steps on a new prosthetic leg.

15 year-old Sobhi Sobeh was hurt during an attack in his homeland in 2003. Sobeh remembers eating lunch inside his house with his family, when a missile hit nearby. Sobeh’s roof collapsed, crushing his leg.

Sobeh says getting medical help in Palestine was a challenge.

“It was very difficult. It took two years and they didn’t know how to deal with it. It was very painful,” says Sobeh.

In September 2009, the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund took in Sobeh and he would soon meet the man who would craft him a new leg. Prosthetist Karl Entenmann donated his services free of cost.

“When he first came here all he had was one sandal, the clothes on his back and his crutches,” says Entenmann.

It took four fittings and lots of fine tuning, but on Thursday, October 01, 2009, Sobeh got to try on his new prosthetic and walk for the first time. Within minutes, Sobeh mastered walking up and down stairs, and was ready to let go of the hand rails. Sobeh says he now wants to be a soccer player and is forever grateful for the kindness that changed his life.

“Thank you for what you’ve done for me. The whole world should thank you, not just me,” says Sobeh to Entenmann.

Sobeh will be in the U.S. for a while longer while he goes through physical therapy. Then he will return back to Palestine to his family, where he is one of 11 children. Preferred Orthotics of Federal Way donated the leg free of cost.