Young Turkish Quake Victim Leaves Hospital

A 4-year-old boy whose legs were crushed in the Turkish earthquake that also killed his mother flashed a thumbs up sign and a smile as he was released Tuesday from a Los Angeles hospital where he had been treated for about a month.

Doctors at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center predict that Furkan Sankapan will make a full recovery after further surgery and several months of physical therapy.

“We are very optimistic that he will be walking well real soon,” said Dr. Brian Kimbrell, who oversaw Furkan’s care since the boy arrived in Los Angeles days after the Aug. 17 quake that killed up to 40,000 people in Turkey.

Among the quake casualties was Furkan’s mother, Necla, who was nine months pregnant when she was killed trying to shield Furkan from falling rubble. She saved his life but a ceiling beam from the family’s home crushed both of Furkan’s legs.

Doctors in Turkey were overwhelmed with quake victims and had planned to amputate the boy’s legs because of a severe infection. But instead, Furkan’s aunt and uncle in Bakersfield brought the boy and his father, Haluk, to Los Angeles in hopes of saving his legs.

Both legs were fractured, a huge patch of skin was torn from his right foot and a toe on his right foot was partially amputated by Turkish doctors.

Doctors at Kaiser Permanente treated the infection and took a skin graph from his left thigh to replace the skin torn from his right foot. He will be receiving further treatment over the next six months in Bakersfield, where he and his father will be staying with the boy’s uncle, Necmi Sanli, an electrical technician, and his aunt, Lisa.

When the family arrived in Los Angeles, Necmi and Lisa Sanli took temporary custody of the boy, allowing Furkan to get medical care under their Kaiser membership.

The tragedy has drawn an outpouring of public support. The family has received nearly $5,000 in contributions as well as donations of toys and clothes.

“The support has really touched our hearts,” said Lisa Sanli.

Furkan and his father have been visited at the hospital by dozens of Turkish Americans and by the staff of the Turkish consulate in Los Angeles.

The boy’s father said he would like to return to Turkey to rebuild his home in his hometown of Adapazari, a city about 80 miles east of Istanbul, after Furkan’s treatment is over.

“It’s very hard to recover from such a traumatic event and I need time to do that,” Haluk Sankapan said through a translator.