Boy (19) lost his hands and eyes after a fire as a 2-year-old toddler, but today he is making his dream come true: “Here I am” | Abroad

At the age of two, Zaid lost both his hands, his eyes, five toes and his right arm after suffering 80 percent burns. The fire was caused by a candle that fell on his blanket while he was sleeping.

According to the doctors, he would never survive his fourth-degree burns, let alone never have a chance of walking or talking. But miraculously, the child survived the numerous (expensive) operations and skin grafts and carefully learned to walk and talk again.

Zaid not only endured a physically difficult process, but it was also very difficult mentally. Zaid once attempted suicide because the reactions of the people around him made him so sad. But thanks to therapy and support from his mother, the boy continued to improve.

Since the age of ten, the boy has dreamed of becoming a police officer. Today, Texas police officers made that dream come true. “This is one of the happiest days of my life. Ever since my accident, I love protecting people. So my dream was always to become a police officer,” he says in a TikTok video.

During his visit to the ‘Houston Police Academy’, Zaid was given a uniform and made an honorary member. He was also taken to the police department’s test track where he learned how to make a traffic stop, arrest a suspect and stop a vehicle.

Zaid also shared his personal story with some of the corps’ young cadets. “In the end I was able to prove the doctors wrong. They thought I wouldn’t make it, but here I am.”

Anyone with questions about suicide can contact the Suicide Line on the free number 1813 and on www.zelfbloed1813.be.