His father explains that Mohammed had been playing happily on the beach with his siblings. The next morning, he woke up unable to walk. Soon he was stumbling and falling.
“At first, I didn’t take it seriously,” his father admits. “I had never seen anything like it.”
But Mohammed’s condition deteriorated rapidly. At Nasser Medical Complex, doctors diagnosed GBS — and explained that cases were becoming increasingly prevalent. After a week in hospital, he was discharged.
Through word of mouth, his family learned about UK-Med’s physiotherapy services.
In July 2025, Head of Physiotherapy Osama allocated Mohammed a wheelchair. He was lucky. GBS has an approximately 5 per cent mortality rate, with young children and vulnerable adults the hardest hit. If the disease had progressed unchecked, severe cases develop life-threatening breathing difficulties requiring ventilation – a result of the body’s continued attack on the nervous system.
Since then, he has attended rehabilitation sessions three times a week. Working with physiotherapist Ghadeer, Mohammed now steps, hops and jumps through carefully designed exercises. Frustration sometimes flickers across his face — but it quickly fades with encouragement. The session ends with him sitting proudly in a large chair, wiggling his toes, while his father watches on.
Recovery is slow. But it is happening.