It was supposed to be a day of laughter and reconnecting with loved ones. Ahmed Seif was on a family visit when he stumbled on a landmine.
The father-of-three at the time lost both legs in the blast. He was able to access emergency care, and stayed 25 days in hospital before he was discharged, with two above-the-knee amputations.
“I was taken to the hospital where I was treated. It was really very painful, there was a lot of blood and unbearable heat, but I was treated, thank God,” Seif, who is father to Haifaa, Nuhad and Essmat, told Project Masam in Taiz.
Seif, who was handed artificial limbs, said that despite the help he received post-amputation he struggled to move with the prosthetics.
“I could not walk with their help because they were very heavy. So, I wish to have more advanced artificial limbs of lighter weight, because the above part of my body is so heavy and the artificial limbs are also heavy, so it is really hard to move.”
So, Seif explained, he has found ways to adapt to his new life.
When Project Masam met him in the Taiziyah District of Yemen’s third-largest city, Seif was driving his wife and children in his car – he showed Project Masam how he had rigged the vehicle with an improvised drive-assist mechanism by wielding metal handles to the pedals.
“Life is full of difficulties. After the accident, I had a new child, and then I had this idea, because it was very hard to move, this car helped me to carry on with my life, [and] to do my errands. The struggles haven’t stopped me,” Seif said with a smile, pointing to his youngest and fourth child, baby Afaf, who was born a year and a half after the disaster.
“I had this child after the accident, life goes on. I thank God for everything he gave me.”
