Baghdad clinic battles epidemic of missing limbs

Baghdad clinic battles epidemic of missing limbs
Iraqis come from all over country to Artificial Limbs Clinic to get their artificial limbs fixed.
By Ahmad al-Rubaye - BAGHDAD

Eight-year-old Ghada Tahseen stood silently as the doctor helped her slip on rubber overalls filled with plaster. It felt strange and uncomfortable but she didn't complain.

"I am really happy that I will have a new leg," she said after a plaster model of her missing limb had been made. "Now I can play again with my friends and go back to school."

...

The Artificial Limbs Clinic, located in the north Baghdad neighborhood of Tunis, was established in the early 1980s at the beginning of Iraq's eight-year war with Iran, but never before has it been so busy.

"We are receiving a lot of people every day, and with every bomb that explodes in Iraq there are new victims that lose one of their limbs," said the clinic's physician, Doctor Inas, who prefers her last name not be used.

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