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Sabah thought that her 18 month-old son, Adam Jamal, wouldn’t survive. "I was watching my son suffer from diarrhea, weight loss, dehydration, and loss of appetite, he could not even cry. I was almost sure that my son would die at any moment. I blamed myself a lot, but I couldn’t do anything to help him. I felt helpless. I was tired as I was pregnant, I had another three weak children and I was loaded with domestic work."
Mohammed Al-Hermily, an Oxfam volunteer who had received training on how to take a Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) measurement for children in his village paid a visit to the family and immediately referred Adam to the nearest hospital. MUAC measurements are a simple method to indicate whether and to which extent children under five are malnourished, by measuring their arm.
"When we went to the hospital, the doctor informed us that Adam suffered from severe malnutrition and must be admitted in the hospital", recalls Sabah. She adds "In the beginning, we refused to leave Adam in the hospital as we didn’t have enough money. His father is a daily worker and I have other children in the house who need care. Then we were convinced again by Oxfam’s Community Health volunteer, Khayria, that Adam should stay in the hospital to get the treatment, care and nutrition supplements that he needed."
After five days in the hospital, Adam’s health start to improve dramatically, he started to cry, eat, and the diarrhea stopped.
