With nine successful surgeries, the 10 Journeys Initiative, the humanitarian program initiated by Dr. Shamsheer Vayalil, continues to transform lives across the world
Abu Dhabi, October 09, 2025: When Australian dog trainer Amanda De Jong first began losing control of her left leg, she thought it would pass. But within days, her foot twisted inward, and soon every step became a battle with unbearable pain. Once an athlete trained for marathons, Amanda suddenly found herself unable to walk, trapped in a body that refused to cooperate. After years of failed treatments, she made an unimaginable choice, to have her leg amputated below the knee in the hope of finding freedom from pain.
Her journey eventually brought her to Abu Dhabi, where she became one of the latest beneficiaries of the 10 Journeys Initiative, a humanitarian program launched by Dr. Shamsheer Vayalil, Founder and Chairman of Burjeel Holdings. The initiative offers 10 free advanced osseointegration prosthetic surgeries for amputees who have lost limbs due to reasons including trauma, illness, or conflict.
Valued at AED 4 million, the program was introduced as a tribute to Sham and Omar, two children who survived the 2023 Syrian earthquake and were treated at Burjeel Medical City (BMC). All surgeries are performed at BMC’s Al Muderis Osseointegration Clinic, led by world-renowned orthopedic surgeon Prof. Dr. Munjed Al Muderis. Using osseointegration, a technique that anchors a titanium implant directly to the bone, patients gain stability, comfort, and the ability to walk more naturally. With Amanda’s case and two others completed recently, a total of nine patients has now undergone surgery through the initiative.
Amanda’s fight for independence
Amanda, 36, had always been active and loved her work training assistance dogs. But after developing Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, her life changed completely. “It reached a point where I cried every morning before getting out of bed,” she said. Over six years, she tried everything from physiotherapy and hydrotherapy to braces and multiple medications. “Nothing worked. Not even a little bit,” Amanda added.
Living with autism made her situation even more challenging, as she could not tolerate the pressure and heat caused by a traditional socket prosthesis. “The sensory discomfort would have been too much to handle,” she explained.
Her condition forced her to stop working. Her husband was also unable to work. This sudden loss of income left the family dependent on government aid, making life even harder. “I was the only one supporting our family,” Amanda said. “When I couldn’t work anymore, everything fell apart. We had to survive on subsidies, and there were days I didn’t know what would come next.”
When she learned about the 10 Journeys Initiative, Amanda saw a lifeline. She travelled to Abu Dhabi alone because her family could not afford to accompany her, leaving behind her husband and home. “From the moment I walked in, everyone at Burjeel was kind and welcoming. The care here is beyond anything I have ever seen,” she said.
Now, after her surgery, she dreams of returning to dog training and hopes to run again someday. “This surgery has given me the chance to chase life again,” she said quietly.
A soldier’s second chance
Steven Doolan, 38, from the United Kingdom, remembers every detail of the day that changed his life. A proud infantry soldier, he was on patrol in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, when an IED exploded beneath him. “I remember the blast, the sound, and then silence. When I looked down, I knew my leg was gone,” he said. Steven lost his right leg in the blast.
The explosion ended his eight-year military career in an instant. For months, he fought through grueling rehabilitation, learning to walk again with a prosthetic limb. “I was young, strong, and thought I could handle anything, but losing a limb tests you in ways you can’t imagine,” Steven said.
For more than a decade, he used socket prosthetics that caused pain and discomfort. “On hot days, it would come loose, and I’d have to stop walking. I’d pretend I was fine in front of my kids, but deep down it broke me not being able to play with them or go on family trips without worrying my leg would fall off,” he recalled.
Steven’s three children, aged 16, 13, and 9, became his motivation to keep pushing. “They never saw me broken. They just wanted their dad to be happy,” he said. When he learned he had been selected for the 10 Journeys Initiative, he said it felt like a new chapter after years of fighting.
After his surgery, Steven is already regaining strength and balance. “Now I can dream again about running with my kids, going to work, doing things without pain,” he said. “This has given me a chance to be the dad I want to be.”
Louis’s story of survival
For Louis Leitao, 68, from Denver, Colorado, life changed just one week after he retired from a 35-year career as a glazier. It was supposed to be a day of simple work on a friend’s ranch. Instead, his parked truck rolled forward and pinned him underneath. He was trapped for nearly 20 hours, alone in the cold. “I screamed until I had no voice left. At one point, I prayed for the pain to stop, even if it meant the end,” he recalled. As the night stretched on, his leg went numb, and his body began to shut down.
When rescuers finally found him the next morning, his relief was overwhelming. “Hearing the sheriff call my name was the sweetest sound I’ve ever heard,” he said. Louis was airlifted to a trauma center, where doctors amputated his left leg and fought to save his kidneys, which had begun to fail. He spent days on dialysis before his condition stabilized.
Louis had built his life around physical work and the outdoors. “I used to hike, fish, and walk my dogs every day,” he said. “After the accident, that all stopped. I felt trapped again, this time in a wheelchair.”
A short residual limb made socket prosthetics unbearable. “I didn’t want to spend my remaining years fighting with pain and poorly fitted prosthetics. Osseointegration gave me a second chance,” he said. At BMC, Louis underwent surgery and is now learning to walk again. He dreams of returning to the mountains, holding a fishing rod, and feeling the ground beneath his feet.
Prof. Dr. Munjed Al Muderis, who performed the surgeries, said every patient’s recovery shows how advanced technology can transform lives. “Each of these people came here carrying years of pain, loss, and hope. Through osseointegration, we are helping them regain movement and independence,” he said.
The 10 Journeys Initiative now counts nine patients from across continents among its beneficiaries, including Massimo Castellani (50) from Italy, Alan Mai (49) from Taiwan, Hasnain Ali (24) from Iraq, Anas Jebeihi (30) from Palestine, Joshua Arnold (29) from the United States, and Sharon Cherian (33) from India.
