Moroccan baby Yahya El Jabaly was born unlike other children. Instead of having a normal face, Yahya only has one nostril, no eyes, and no upper jaw.

However, thanks to the generosity of many people, the boy had the opportunity to have a normal face.

Born in a small village in Morocco, Yahya’s face was deformed due to abnormal changes in the fetus that prevented the bones in his face from joining together to form a face.

Regardless, Yahya was born a healthy and happy baby boy.

But to the people in the village, the boy was a social outsider, and Yahya’s parents always had to hide their son’s face because they were afraid his appearance would frighten everyone.

Because he did not have an upper jaw, Yahya could not speak and could only communicate through cries.

Last year, Yahya was brought to Australia for orthopedic surgery thanks to the help of a kind woman in Melbourne.

After a life-changing 18-hour surgery, doctors in Melbourne repositioned Yahya’s facial bones, giving him the chance to live a normal life.

When they saw their son’s face after surgery, Yahya’s parents burst into tears of joy.

Mr. Mostafa, Yahya’s father shared: “It is a great joy and happiness to see my son like that.”

Initially, the surgery was expected to take only eight hours, but then had to last more than 18 hours.

Yahya lost half the blood in his body, and had to reposition his brain in his skull.

A group of doctors took turns operating on the boy. The cost of the surgery was covered partly by donations and partly by doctors who volunteered to do it for free.

Yahya’s story first became known to the world when his best friend’s father posted information on Facebook and called for help.

Ms. Fatima Baraka, a woman living in Melbourne who survived breast cancer and was born in a village near Yahya’s residence, read the story and decided to find a surgeon who was willing to help Yahya.

She went to orthopedic doctor Tony Holmes in Melbourne. Ms. Baraka then went to meet Yahya’s family before taking them to Australia.

Ms. Baraka shared after Yahya’s surgery: “I couldn’t believe what he went through, and how he overcame it all and became stronger. Yahya is very smart and has a lot of potential, there is no reason why he cannot have a bright future.”

She also admitted that she was “a little scared” when she first met Yahya, but he quickly won her over.

Yahya and his family met Dr. Holmes after arriving in Australia. Although there were many risks, Dr. Holmes soon performed surgery on the boy.

Dr. Holmes shared: “I think this surgery is very difficult. If calculated on a scale of 10, the difficulty level must be 9.5. Yahya will probably die if we don’t operate, but he’s also at risk of dying if we do.”

Yahya had surgery last December. Dr. Holmes attached the two sides of the boy’s skull together, and gave him a nose from his own skin.

Yahya also has hope of being able to speak after surgery, because his vocal cords were not damaged.

At the end of the surgery, Dr. Holmes was very satisfied with the results and shared his joy with Yahya’s parents.

Dr Holmes said: “When they saw him for the first time, they were completely surprised and extremely happy. The risks in surgery are very big, but I think it’s worth it, because from now on the boy can live a different life.”

A few weeks after surgery, Yahya’s face began to heal. The boy was able to smile and even hum a tune.

Although several more surgeries are still needed on the eye and nose areas, the surgery has changed the boy’s entire life./.