LEILA FADEL, BYLINE: Dr. Sami Tuffaha first learned about his patient through a picture. It came from Gaza to social media and ended up in Time Magazine - a girl in the dark pinned under rubble, terrified, lit only by the flash of a camera.
SAMI TUFFAHA: Of all the images I had seen, that had left an impression on me. And this one was definitely one that stood out, just 'cause it was so visceral.
FADEL: Dr. Tuffaha is a plastic and reconstructive surgeon. Later, scrolling through social media, he saw the same girl - Nada Jwaifel. She'd been pulled from the rubble, had been able to get out of Gaza and get to Tunisia, where doctors said her leg needed to be amputated. And the photographer, Motaz Azaiza, who made that famous image in Gaza turned to the internet again. This time, he posted a plea.
TUFFAHA: Essentially, Motaz was asking if anybody could help save her leg. And so at that point, I realized that this was my opportunity to do something to help. We connected and started making plans.
FADEL: Nada, can you tell me about that day that Motaz took that picture? What happened to you that day?
NADA JWAIFEL: October 31, 2023, my building is bombed. And I have six beautiful sister, Wala (ph) and Wafa (ph), Ilham (ph), Sama (ph), Farah (ph) and the youngest, Salma (ph), who was only 1 1/2 year old, and only brother, Youssef. And also killed my grandmother.
FADEL: So wait. All of your siblings were killed?
JWAIFEL: Yes.
FADEL: And your grandmother?
JWAIFEL: Yeah.
FADEL: When you look at that photo today, what is it like to see that picture of you in that moment?
JWAIFEL: I don't remember much, but I wish this picture didn't exist. But also, this picture saved my leg and future.
FADEL: Sami, if you could walk us through what Nada needed when she arrived in the U.S. in December?
TUFFAHA: So her leg was pinned under the rubble for many hours. And she lost blood flow to her leg, which led to all the muscles in her leg that would allow her to walk and provide function - all those muscles had died, leading the Tunisian doctors to think that she would be better off without it than with it. In order to restore function to her leg, I took the muscle from her back that she doesn't need, called the latissimus muscle, transplanted that to her leg, hooked up the blood vessels to provide blood flow to the muscle so it could survive, and then attached it to the nerve that would normally activate the muscles in her leg. That muscle will now regenerate into the transplanted muscle...
FADEL: Wow.
TUFFAHA: ...And provide function.
FADEL: That's incredible.
TUFFAHA: Yeah, it's a unusual surgery. It was definitely going out on a limb, you know, pardon the pun. But I was willing to venture in that direction with her, and she was eager to go for the home run option.
FADEL: And, Nada, how has your recovery been? You're able to walk on that leg?
JWAIFEL: Yeah, I'm walk. Now I'm physical therapy. Now, Alhamdulillah (ph), everything is good.
TUFFAHA: Yeah, and she's still early in her recovery process, and she's well ahead of the expected trajectory that I would hope for. At the time of the surgery, it was a coin toss at best. And that's how I framed it to her and her mother, and so we had some very sober discussions about that. But now that things have worked out, we're all very happy that we made this choice, and she should only get better from here.
FADEL: Nada's 19. She stays in Baltimore with her mother, and her father is still in Tunisia, unable to join them here.
JWAIFEL: I want my dad come with me and see me walking again, and I want complete my education. And I want become a doctor, and I help more children in Gaza. He helped me - Dr. Sami Tuffaha - saved my leg, and now I'm walking again.
FADEL: You want to do the same?
JWAIFEL: Yes.
FADEL: A lot happened for Dr. Tuffaha and Nada to meet. In some ways, it was that picture. And in others, it was U.S. policy at the time, when some visitor visas - very few - were being granted to children from Gaza in need of medical treatment, along with their parents. In August, the State Department halted all of those visas after far-right political activist Laura Loomer called their recipients Muslim invaders. She wrote online, I don't care if they're kids. The U.S. is full. Loomer, who describes herself as a proud Islamophobe and pro-white nationalist, has the ear of the president.
In a statement to NPR, the State Department said it's reviewing the visa vetting process and that the administration is upholding the highest standards of national security. It also said, quote, "there are many countries around the world with great hospitals that should be stepping up to provide assistance, including France, Australia, U.K. and Canada, to name a few," unquote. All the countries the State Department named happened to recognize a Palestinian state last week.
TUFFAHA: Providing care to children in need across the world - that's something that shouldn't be political or controversial here in the United States. It's something that we've done at my hospital for many, many children from many regions, including Gaza, and it's a shame that this is now becoming a political issue.
FADEL: And Nada?
JWAIFEL: I think that's not good. Children in Gaza - they have the right to be treated because they were stripped of their right to live.
TUFFAHA: Yeah. These are innocent people who were caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, and they're paying a very heavy price. We should not automatically view these people as a threat just 'cause of who they are, where they come from.
FADEL: This is something you want to do more of?
TUFFAHA: Yeah. I would love to help as much as I can. I mean, it feels like a drop in the bucket. You know, whether it's bringing more patients here to the United States or doing mission trips close by to Gaza. I think Nada's surgery couldn't have happened anywhere other than here, but there are other, simpler surgeries that I could offer, you know, in the West Bank or in Egypt.
FADEL: And, Nada, when you think about the future now, you have your leg. I know the recovery ahead is going to be difficult. What do you see in your future?
JWAIFEL: I don't know anything future.
FADEL: Yeah. It's hard to see anything.
JWAIFEL: Yes. Very hard.
FADEL: We say goodbye. Then, in the studio in Baltimore, Nada has one more request for Dr. Tuffaha.
JWAIFEL: Excuse me, please. I want picture.
TUFFAHA: Oh, yeah.
JWAIFEL: Excuse...
TUFFAHA: A picture? Yeah.
JWAIFEL: Please come.
TUFFAHA: Shall we put our headphones on here?
JWAIFEL: Yeah.
FADEL: Nada Jwaifel from Gaza and Dr. Sami Tuffaha, plastic and reconstructive surgeon at Johns Hopkins.
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