‘Bullets can make a real mess of bones’: the hospital where the war wounded have their lives put together again

Rebuilding lives (from left): Da’ed Almneaid, a clinical psychologist; the hospital director, Roshan Kumarasamy; Dr Rasheed Fakhri, an orthopaedic surgeon; and Dr Samar Ismail, supervisor of the 3D prosthetics. Photograph: Alaa Atwah/The Guardian

A girl slips through the corridors of the hospital’s fifth floor with her friend, the pair bright-eyed and shy. Today is her last chance to wear her sparkly new shoes, bought for a party last week. Tomorrow, the 12-year-old Iraqi will have a leg amputated.

The operation was due two weeks ago but the surgeon, who had tried not to weep as he broke the news that amputation was necessary, agreed to delay surgery. She wanted the chance to wear her new shoes to the party first.