Reports of Israeli medical assistance to Syrian war victims long ago began to filter back into Syria. Jerusalem set up a field hospital near the Israeli-Syrian border last March, and victims who require extensive care have been taken to hospitals deeper inside Israel. Over 100 Syrians have been treated, leading some to tepidly speculate about the potential for humanitarian-driven rapprochement between Israel and Arab moderates traditionally hostile to its existence.

The Tower two months ago described the case of an eight year old girl who, along with her mother, were admitted Ziv Hospital in northern Israel. The girl was suffering from arm and leg fractures, the result of a mortar slamming into her house.

The Jerusalem Post this week updated the story with an account of the progress she’s since made. The outlet notes that the medical skill and technology that doctors brought to bear on her case were, quite literally, unprecedented. The result is that she’s now able to walk again:

The girl is the youngest patient ever to undergo the Ilizarov technique, which has enabled her to walk again… The technique is a method of treatment for bone injuries pioneered by Russian Jewish physician Gavril Abramovich Ilizarov, and encourages regeneration using a system of external frames attached to the bone.

Dr. Alexander Lerner, head of the Ziv pediatrics department, says the child has undergone a series of operations since her arrival in Israel, including one to lengthen her leg, which meant inserting screws in the bones of her leg, which were in turn attached to an external brace. When she first arrived, in critical condition, Ziv orthopedists had thought her leg would have to be amputated.

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