King renews hope for physically challenged 10-year-old boy

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Tuesday issued directives to provide the necessary medical care to 10-year-old Ibrahim Khawaldeh, who was born with a deformity that left him with one leg longer than the other, a Royal Court statement said.

Khawaldeh, who lives in Zarqa, appeared in a trending video on social media while “desperately” waiting for His Majesty, who was on a visit to the governorate, 25km  east of Amman.

In the video released by the Royal Court’s media office on social media, the King, who apologised for “not being able to see you yesterday”, promised the boy to meet with him again after his surgery at King Hussein Medical Centre in order to check on him.

The boy told the Monarch that he was only able to wave to him. 

Khawaldeh has had six surgeries before, but none yielded the hoped for result. 

When he saw the video, His Majesty ordered bringing the kid over to talk to him and to “make his dream come true”. 

Othman Khawaldeh, Ibrahim’s father, told The Jordan Times over the phone that his son suffers from “short femur length” and when he underwent surgeries, they were not “100 per cent successful”, so when he falls or gets hit on his right leg; “it breaks”, because the ligaments “did not grow with the growth of the bones”.

Commenting on Ibrahim’s status, Waleed Al Emam, an orthopaedician, said: “Sometimes, children suffer from poliomyelitis, which is caused by a viral infection in the early beginnings of their lives, and it causes muscles, tissues and tendons atrophy in the lower part of the body”.

“He was very happy to meet His Majesty the King, and he says that it was the best day of his life”, Othman said when asked about his son’s reaction to having met the King.

He added that an appointment was scheduled for his son with specialised doctors to diagnose the case next Tuesday.

“Ibrahim is smart, and he is a very optimistic kid and has a strong will, but sometimes I see him frustrated when he watches other kids playing football in the neighbourhood,” the father concluded.