Laughs from a Pure Soul

20.April 2021

Laughs from a Pure Soul

We visited Mostafa, a 12 years old boy at the Queen Rania hospital. He was sitting on the sofa with a facemask and a tablet on his lap. 
Mostafa was listening carefully to Dr. Ten and me, Dr. O’ajah, while we introduced ourselves but had a blank expression on his face. He then slowly pulled the mask down to his neck. 
Dr. Ten told Mostafa that we needed to put a big smile on his beautiful face!  He asked Mostafa to open his mouth like if he was at the dentist.  From a distance, Dr.Ten threw a “smile seed” into Mostafa’s mouth. Of course, I was helping by holding the flashlight for Dr.Ten.
Now, my part came. My mission was to put a crooked smile on Mostafa’s face, just like mine! 
I explained to Mostafa that I needed to fix his smile and asked him to keep his mouth open and give us a big smile. With his teeth showing he was listening attentively to every instruction we gave! 
I asked him if he wanted me to brush his teeth, and he accepted, so I took out my big brush as he laughed. I asked him if he wanted me to scrub his tongue with my dishwashing loofah, and he accepted too, and he pulled out his tongue as I scrubbed!
Then Dr. Ten asked him to vow that he will keep his smile always, but Mostafa was busy saying his full name and that he was in Jordan, then he added a list of countries. We were flabbergasted at his knowledge of so many countries. We were mostly filled with joy as he was taking us on a ride with his thoughts. With a big smile on Mostafa’s face we bid him goodbye. 
Ms. Dua’a, the social worker in charge of Mostafa’s care, said to us "you did a great job; Mostafa is autistic and barely responds to anyone!".
We were so surprised to hear that, but then everything made sense. Mostafa had his own way of engaging with us and this is what made him special and made this visit a memorable one. We were extremely happy to know that we managed to get him engaged, made him talk, and even smile! 
He deeply touched our hearts and left us very emotional. Working with him was the most beautiful gift I received that day.

Sincerely,
Doctor O’ajah

*Story from RED NOSES Jordan

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