The tragedy of the Syrian child "Sham". She survived the earthquake and is at risk of having her legs amputated

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After spending nearly forty hours under the rubble in northwestern Syria, Sham is now at risk of having her legs amputated, after she was injured, like many survivors of the earthquake, with limb mashing syndrome.

The video documenting her rescue, posted by the White Helmets and widely circulated on social media, showed nine-year-old Sham Sheikh Mohammed lying under the rubble, talking to rescuers, asking for a water bottle and suggesting how to pull it out or sing a song bearing her name. Then she groans from being under the rubble.

Sham, who spent 40 hours under the rubble after her house collapsed and the roof fell on her legs, has been under surveillance for days in intensive care at Shifa Hospital in Idlib city.

According to the doctors caring for her, the child is at risk of amputation of her legs at the level of the legs and is at risk of heart and kidney problems.

The earthquake that struck Sura and neighboring Turkey, killing more than 43,<> people in both countries, destroyed the girl's home in the city of Armanaz in the northwestern countryside of Idlib and killed her mother and sister, while she survived with two of her brothers and father.

On the hospital bed, Sham lies with a doll next to her, and repeats, "Help me, doctor," every time she feels so much pain.

Doctors working in northwestern Sorio explain that Sham's situation is similar to the cases of several people they received after the earthquake.

Orthopedic surgeon Tarek Mustafa told AFP: "The child Sham is one of several cases received in the area hospitals and suffers from hers syndrome after she stayed more than forty hours under the rubble."

The doctor, who works at a hospital in the town of Maarat Misrin run by the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS), said that "her condition was critical because she is prone to amputation at the level of the legs," but noted that "some positive indicators" prompted her supervisors to postpone the amputation.

Herress syndrome is caused by any pressure on the limbs for a long period of more than 12 hours, which leads to interruption of blood circulation at the tissue level, according to Mustafa, who reported that doctors in the region have seen many similar cases, especially children.

Overall, the patient arrives in good condition at the hospital and then informs the doctors of pain felt at the level of the limbs. But at the same time, he is at risk of life-threatening heart and kidney problems, and Mustafa says: "This is what is colloquially called: the smile of death."

Not only does the patient face the risk of amputation, as reactivating blood circulation has consequences: high potassium in the blood may lead to direct heart damage, and high hemoglobin may result in renal failure.