His name is Yahya El Jabaly. The boy, who is now 3-years old, was born with no eyes, a hole in the middle of his face where his nose should be and no upper jaw.
The Moroccan born toddler was born deformed after complications in the womb stopped the bones in his face from fusing together.
Despite his incredibly rare condition, Yahya managed to survive and grow into healthy boy,However socially, he is automatically an outcast as his appearance is considered too confronting for many.
The toddler's face is covered up whenever he leaves his village. Also due to lacking the roof of his mouth, he is unable to speak and can only communicate through grunts.
Yahya's plight first went global when the father of his closest friend took to Facebook, pleading for medical professionals to help the boy live a normal life.
Fortunately for him, the post calling out for help was read by Fatima Baraka, a Melbourne breast cancer survivor who was born in a village close to Yahya's.
Ms Baraka said,
'He's entered my heart...I'm so in love with this little boy,'
'There was a big phone number in red [on the post], it was quite obvious that it was a cry for help of some sort and I found myself reaching for the phone and calling the number.
Ms Baraka took it upon herself to search for a surgeon who would be willing to transform Yahya's face and soon found Melbourne reconstructive surgeon, Tony Holmes who separated Bangladeshi-born conjoined twins Trishna and Krishna.
She then travelled to Yahya's home where she met the toddler and his family for the first time before bringing them to Australia. Of her first meeting with the family, Ms Baraka said,
'I was quite shocked. I didn't think I would be shocked but I was,'
'I was a little bit horrified to be honest.'
Yahya and his parents also met Dr Holmes after being flown to Melbourne where the three-year-old underwent a range of developmental tests from CT scans to MRI's, to confirm how his brain functions and if he was suitable for surgery.
Despite the serious risks involved, Dr Holmes soon agreed to operate on the toddler.
Yahya will undergo surgery in December, when Dr Holmes plans to bring the two sides of his skull together and build him a nose with his own skin. There is also a chance that the toddler will be able to speak after the procedure due to his vocal chords remaining intact.
Credit: DailyMail
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