'I want to run and play with my siblings': Palestinian-Jordanian girl hopes for new life after US surgery

Leen Mohammad, 12, who lives with a severe form of cerebral palsy, travelled to the US for a third time to undergo surgery

For much of her childhood, Leen Mohammad has depended on a wheelchair and walker to move around.

Born in Amman with cerebral palsy, the Palestinian-Jordanian girl has spent her life with limited mobility, often watching from the sidelines as other children run, jump and play.

Now 12, Leen has travelled thousands of kilometres with her mother to Shriners Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where doctors carried out complex, six-hour surgery on her legs, offering her a new chance at mobility.

“When I start walking, I will feel so happy,” Leen told The National. “I want to play with my siblings. I want to run. I want to go shopping with my mother.”

Leen Mohammad and her mother Sana'a Shllak play Uno cards at their host family's residence in Delaware. Nilanjana Gupta / The National

Leen suffers from spastic quadriplegia, a severe form of cerebral palsy affecting all four limbs.

The family, originally from Jenin in the occupied West Bank, have travelled to the US for medical treatment three times. In 2016, when Leen was only four, she underwent surgery at Shriners Hospital in Minnesota to help her walk, with the procedure fully covered by the hospital due to the high cost of overseas care.

Four years later, in 2020, Leen and her mother travelled to St Louis Children’s Hospital in Missouri for a procedure known as selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR), a form of neurosurgery that helps reduce spasticity, a condition that causes muscle stiffness and tightness.

The treatment cost about $70,000, said Leen’s mother Sana’a Shllak. With no medical insurance, the family raised the funds through a GoFundMe campaign and by creating and selling handmade frames inscribed with the word "hope".

“What she has going on now is actually very common in kids with spastic quadriplegia,” explained Dr Terrence Ishmael, paediatric orthopaedic and spine surgeon at Shriners in Philadelphia, who in May carried out Leen’s third operation.

For most of her young life, Leen Mohammad has relied on a wheelchair and a walker to move around. Nilanjana Gupta / The National

“When they have surgery at a really young age, often times the clinical scenario can change as they grow, because, you know, her body and her bones are growing really quickly, but often times, her muscles and her tendons don't quite grow at the same rate.

"Sometimes the bones are not aligned in the position that is the most efficient for her to walk, so it's actually very common for originally treated issues to recur again.”

Leen is approaching skeletal maturity, which means the likelihood of her needing more surgery is lower than it would have been at a younger age.

“The hope is that the results we get with this procedure, or this combination of procedures, will be durable and last her into adulthood,” the surgeon added.

The family expressed deep gratitude to the hospital for covering the full cost of Leen’s medical treatment. They also received crucial support from Heal Palestine, a non-profit organisation dedicated to helping Palestinian children rebuild their lives.

“Without Heal Palestine, the trip would not have been possible,” said Ms Shllak, who explained that the organisation funded their flights and accommodation in Philadelphia. Established on January 1 last year, Heal Palestine has been providing essential support to children affected by the Israel-Gaza war. Leen is the first Jordanian-Palestinian child the group has assisted.

From struggle to strength

“It is heartbreaking. I feel lost, sad, but I need to be strong for her. I always Google about her case to choose the best for her,” said Ms Shllak.

Leen was only nine months old when she fell into a six-day coma. It was then that doctors diagnosed her with cerebral palsy.

For the first four years of Leen’s life, Ms Shllak carried her everywhere, all while desperately searching the internet for treatment options. That’s how she discovered Shriners Children’s Hospital.

“The US offers more advanced treatment and equipment compared to Jordan and the doctors are experts. So I chose the US to treat my daughter," she said.

Leen currently has casts on both legs, which will be removed six weeks after surgery. She and her mother are staying with a host family in the US state of Delaware and plan to return to Jordan in August.

Leen Mohammad wants to be doctor when she is older, to help children like her. Nilanjana Gupta / The National

“Once the casts come off, she'll be placed in new braces for her feet, and we expect that she'll be able to take her first steps with a walker right after having the cast removed,” said Dr Ishmael.

Leen dreams of one day walking, and even running, without assistance. But given her condition, the doctor says it’s difficult to predict whether she will ever be able to move entirely on her own.

“The treatment is ultimately to make her walk more efficiently, but in terms of her becoming an independent walker of any meaningful distance, it's unlikely because of her underlying condition,” said Dr Ishmael.

He explained that Leen’s voluntary motor control is significantly limited, affecting her upper and lower limbs.

“There are kids who have less severe cerebral palsy, who do achieve meaningful, independent ambulation with minimal assistance. But it's not clear as to whether or not Leen is one of those, and it's hard to predict,” he added.

Despite the challenges, Leen’s family remains determined to give her a more independent future. For them, this journey is about more than mobility - it’s rooted in the belief that every child deserves the chance to thrive.

As for Leen, no dream feels out of reach. “When I grow up, I want to be a doctor so I can help kids like me,” she says with a smile.