With a voice blending pride and gratitude, the grandmother of infant Mahdi recounts the story of her grandson, who was born into grueling health battles from his very first hours of life, and how coordinated medical care restored his health.

The grandmother related, "Barely two hours had passed after Mahdi's birth before our joy was shattered by unforeseen news. The neonatologist informed us of an open spinal defect (spina bifida) on his back, alongside evident mandibular malformations. There was no time for tears; within just seven hours, we brought him to neurosurgeon Dr. Hussam Al-Anbari, who expertly performed a surgical procedure at two months of age at Al-Kafeel Super Speciality Hospital to repair and close the spinal defect, the procedure concluded with complete success."

She continued, "Mahdi was unable to breastfeed and depended entirely on nasogastric tube feeding. Worse yet, his clinical condition deteriorated as his retrognathic mandible caused the tongue to fall backward (glossoptosis), producing severe airway compromise. I remained constantly by his side, monitoring him day and night, terrified that our grandchild might suffocate in our arms."

At five months of age, the second stage of management commenced under Dr. Radhwan Al-Taie, an oral and maxillofacial surgeon. Following rigorous clinical evaluations and CT imaging, Dr. Al-Taie performed a precision surgical reconstruction to correct the mandibular anomaly, realigning the jaw and tongue into their proper anatomical positions.

The grandmother concluded, "The surgery was a definitive success; Mahdi is now feeding naturally, and his respirations have finally stabilized. We could hardly anticipate such a remarkable recovery, but Dr. Radhwan played a pivotal role in restoring our child's life following an arduous journey of suffering."