Devoted Moroccan mother: ‘I will be my son’s arms and legs until my last breath’

Her devotion and strength has shaken social media in Morocco and abroad, leading her to becoming an icon of sacrifice, struggle and patience.

Rabiaa al-Rumaili has carried her 13-year-old disabled son on her back since he was five to school so he can continue his education and achieve his dreams to become an active member in his community.

The mother who is from the city of Fez told Al Arabiya English: “My son was diagnosed with meningitis when he was nine and doctors had to amputate his legs, right hand and 3 fingers of his left hand, so that the disease would not spread to the rest of his body.”

She added that these surgeries left her child unable to walk, depriving him from going to school and join his classmates.

Rumaili remembers with pain when she came to terms with herself and realized that her son became disabled at this young age. She said she decided to defy this reality and adapt with the hope to continue with her son education and raise him like the rest of those in his age by carrying him on her back to school, giving him hope of a bright future.

Moroccan devoted mother (Supplied)

She said: “I will never feel tired of carrying my child on my back on daily basis in his life journey which is still at the beginning.”

The devoted mother said: “I will be his legs and arms as long as my heart beats.”

She said her child wants to finish his education and become a pediatric so no other child would suffer like he did.

Despite her fragile health herself and the difficult economic and social conditions in which the family live in, she insist that all this will not prevent her from sacrificing everything for her son.