It was close to exactly one year after the beginning of his dialysis sessions but on September 1st he underwent a transplant thanks to a donation from his mother.
The transplant was carried out by the Paediatric Nephrology of Bari.
It is not the first case of paediatric dialysis in Diaverum Italy: there have been even younger children treated in other clinics, aged eight years old and even as young as five years old. But Amir's story has particularly moved everyone.
He arrived in Italy on 31st July 2019 from Syria thanks to the intervention of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. He was hosted with his family in Avetrana, a town in the province of Taranto that has joined the UNHCR Program of war refugee’s hospitality.
Rejected by the public hospitals in the area, due to the lack of any paediatric nephrology department, he was welcomed by us.
The morning after his arrival he was in our clinic to continue the haemodialytic treatment that began in February, he was not yet 13 years old.
The staff of Grottaglie clinic showed huge commitment and overcame not only the challenge of treating their first ever paediatric patient but also worked with the added complication of language difficulties, as Amir, on his arrival knew only a few words in French.
A challenge that enriched us professionally: we managed the changes in weight due to growth, the posology of drugs, ultrafiltration, and the venepuncture of a AVF set up with small caliber blood vessels.
The courage of this child coming from a country at war and who from the first day in a foreign country faced dialysis alone, without ever crying, without ever complaining, with a firmness in his eyes of a child raised too quickly, which is not easy to find in an adult, amazed us all and above all enriched us from a human perspective.
That is why, we all want to thank Amir for the experience we have been part of this past year. The history of each of our patients is important and unique, but this one really touched our hearts deeply.
Amir now goes to school, is a Juventus football club fan, uses social media and speaks Italian. He has a new kidney that will allow him a peaceful life, and we would like to think that maybe, it is also thanks to us.