Abdul Had the Best Protection any Baby Boy Can Have

• Afghanistan

Shirin was nine months pregnant when she was injured in an explosion in the city of Ghazni, Afghanistan.

The shrapnel from the blast perforated her abdomen, and hit the right foot of her unborn child. As soon as she arrived at our hospital in Kabul, we performed an emergency C-section.

When baby Abdul was born – that’s the name Shirin gave her son – we performed surgery straight away to remove the shrapnel from his foot.

Today, we’re happy to say that they’re both safe and sound. In the hospital gardens, Shirin holds on tight to Abdul, who’s wrapped up in a floral blanket. The bandage on his foot is a reminder of how unlucky he’s been… or how lucky.

A couple of inches to the left or the right, and the shrapnel could have hit his head, or a vital organ, but fortunately he had the best protection any baby boy can have: his mother.