Dr. Muhammad

33-year old Dr. Muhammad was born in Baghdad and lived there with his family until a death threat forced him to flee to Jordan in 2007. Now his life is threatened again, this time from a mass of intestinal tumors (not malignant) which will kill him if it isn’t removed.

When Dr. Muhammad was a one year old child, his father (only 45 at the time) died of intestinal cancer. His mother worked hard in her small shop to raise her four children alone, and she succeeded – three became physicians and one an engineer.

After the 2003 invasion and resulting sectarian violence Dr. Muhammad’s family was forced to leave their home – his mother was told by a neighbor that his name had appeared on a list of people in their neighborhood to be killed – and Dr. Muhammad fled to Jordan where he has been working to complete his specialized training, which requires working full time for free in an Amman hospital and paying monthly fees of $165 for five years. His family remains in Baghdad.

In the spring of 2007, Dr. Muhammad was diagnosed with intestinal cancer. Doctors in Amman removed the malignant tumors. Since then, however, his body has produced hundreds of benign polyps in his intestines, and he now has a large mass that cannot be removed in Jordan because of the complex surgery required – the same artery that is feeding his cancer also feeds his intestine, and an attempt to remove it could be fatal. Due to the size and pressure of the mass, however, it must be removed to save Dr. Muhammad’s life.

But there is hope. A British medical specialist has agreed to perform the operation, and an international NGO has agreed to arrange for a visa to authorise travel to Britain.

With the destruction of the Iraqi healthcare system, there is no job more important for Iraqis – whether in Iraq or displaced in Jordan or Syria – than that of a doctor. In addition to a critical lack of supplies and equipment, thousands of doctors have been killed or forced to flee Iraq since the beginning of the war. This of course means fewer skilled physicians available at a time when their services are so desperately needed to try to treat the uncounted hundreds of thousands of people who have been physically or emotionally traumatized by war and violence.

With so few places to turn for help, the importance of good men like Dr. Muhammad becomes clear. For his family, losing a father and youngest son to the same disease would be devastating.

Direct Aid Iraq is working with groups and individuals in Jordan, the U.S and the U.K. to save Dr. Muhammad’s life. It is estimated that the surgery in England will cost $40,000 US Dollars.

For the sake of Dr. Muhammad, his family and loved ones in Baghdad and his patients in Amman, please click here to help.