DURANI, Afghanistan — Djamshid Popal, the young Afghan boy who underwent life-saving heart surgery in Canada one year ago, is growing weak and likely will not live much longer if he remains in Afghanistan, his father says.

"The decision belongs to Allah, but I think he won't survive because the situation and the circumstances that he's been living through are not good," the 10-year-old's father, Shafiullah said, looking down at the thin wool rugs that cover the dirt floors of his mud-brick one-room home.

Under an intense media spotlight, Djamshid was brought to Canada last summer after a Canadian Forces doctor spotted him in Durani, a remote village that is a bumpy and sometimes treacherous two-hour drive north of Kabul.

He returned to Afghanistan in November, and stayed in Kabul for several weeks under a doctor's care. But money quickly ran out for his father, who was forced to return to his dusty village, where he could look for work while living with relatives.

Since then, Djamshid's condition has deteriorated. His feet swell like balloons, often making it painfully difficult to walk. He coughs continually, giving him a sore throat and making sleep sporadic. He doesn't play with his friends because his breathing is barely strong enough to let him squeak out a few words when he's asked a question.

"I can see many changes in Djamshid's face, in his health," said Shafiullah, trying to contain his emotions. "Definitely, if we stay here, his health will get worse and worse."

Djamshid is supposed to have his blood tested regularly, but his family situation makes that impossible.

Since returning home, the boy has had just one set of tests completed, at a cost of over $20 US - more than what his father earns during an entire month of toiling in the drought-stricken fields surrounding the village.

Even if the boy was tested more often, testing is done in Pakistan, and the results aren't returned for three weeks. By then, it's too late for Djamshid's father to know whether his son needs to take his medication.

On top of that, he has just a half bottle remaining of Coumodin, the pills he is supposed to take to thin his blood. The pills aren't easily available in Afghanistan, and Shafiullah couldn't afford to buy them even if there was a ready supply.

"These tablets, we cannot find them in Afghanistan," Shafiullah said, shaking the few pills remaining in one of the bottles he brought from Canada.

If Djamshid doesn't succumb to the lack of medicine or medical care - the closest doctor is 60 kilometres away in Kabul - he faces other, more menacing threats close by.

On the family home, a barely legible warning is painted in red on an outside wall.

"Wherever you see the red line, it means danger of mines," reads the sign, scrawled in Pashto.

Landmines surround the house, with telltale red-painted rocks strewn everywhere the eye can see. Shafiullah's brother, Rahmeallah, accidentally stepped on one of the landmines and lost a leg while Djamshid and his father were in Canada.

While his father is not optimistic about what lies ahead for his son, Djamshid holds out hope of a brighter future half a world away.

"First of all, I want to cure myself," he said, quietly coughing the words from his mouth.

"Secondly, I want to be something."

Djamshid's father is asked why he didn't try to stay in Canada when he was already there with his son. He won't say, instead telling his son to answer.

"All I wanted to do was see my mother. I missed my mother," Djamshid replied.

Now, knowing that his health is worsening, Djamshid is hoping for a second chance.

"I want to go to Canada because I want to get an education there," he said.

"This time when I go, I won't go alone. I'll take my mom, my younger brothers and my father. My whole family, so I don't need to miss anybody else."

Deeply touched by the medical care he received in both Ottawa and Toronto, Djamshid has only one dream beyond getting well and going to school.

"I want to be a doctor," he said, his face widening into a smile.

The doctors in Canada "did my diagnosis the best. And they are good people with the spirit of humanity."

"I can never thank them enough."