Syrian toddler gets fresh chance at life in Turkey

ADANA

A Syrian toddler has a new chance at life after receiving treatment for a heart condition she was born with.

Aye El Yusuf, 2, was brought for surgery to Turkey from a camp for displaced persons in Syria.

She was treated at the Cukurova University Hospital in the southeastern province of Adana.

“The hole in her heart was slightly larger than normal, exerting a high pressure on the vein leading to the lung,” Dr. Ugur Gocen at the facility told Anadolu Agency.

The problem was diagnosed and a successful surgery was performed, he said.

Her mother, Sevre Resle Muhammed Um Rahaf thanked the Turkish Red Crescent and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for their support, saying she is happy to see her daughter healthy.

The father, Muhammed Halil El Yusuf wished quick recovery for other patients.

“May her family smile, may all the children smile,” said Ramazan Saygili, the head of Turkish Red Crescent’s Adana branch.

"Where ever there is an oppressed, a victim in the world, the Red Crescent extends their hand and heals their wounds," he added.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million others displaced, according to UN officials.