ABU DHABI // Many children have food allergies, but few are allergic to nearly everything.Two-year-old Fatima is such a child. Apart from water, a sip of milk or a grain of rice will have the toddler vomiting blood for weeks.
“It began during her birth,” says her father, Ahmed Abdulla. When his wife started haemorrhaging after a Caesarean delivery, the doctor gave her an overdose of medication to stop the bleeding.
“The normal dose is three millilitres, she gave her 7.5ml.”
The overdose resulted in severe complications, but the worst was that most of the medication was absorbed by Fatima.
“My wife’s lungs stopped functioning and her heart was enlarged. She was moved to intensive care but the doctors kept insisting that she breastfeed. I told them that it was impossible but they kept insisting.”
A few weeks later Fatima started vomiting and passing blood.
“I panicked. She was covered in blood. Such a tiny thing and there was blood all over her.”
The parents rushed her to hospital and, after several tests and endoscopys, doctors informed the parents that their child had a multiple food allergy – she is allergic to everything. She requires a special kind of milk and cannot have anything else.
“The milk costs Dh570 per can and one can will last two days,” says Ahmed, who recently lost his job. “I wanted my daughter to eat like every other child. We are always scared if she puts anything in her mouth. At lunch time, her mother would take her to another room so she wouldn’t see her two siblings eating.”
They also worry about her going to a nursery. “What if she takes a candy or anything from her friend?” Ahmed asks.
Despite being told there was no cure for Fatima, he refuses to give up hope for his daugter.
“A friend of mine is a doctor in Egypt and after months of looking we found a hospital in Germany that could cure Fatima.”
The family then sold their property in Egypt, all their belongings and with assistance from Dar Al Ber, flew to Germany in September.
“Now Fatima can eat five kinds of food. It was the happiest day of my life when she had her first bite. Pumpkin, that was the first food ever to enter her mouth.”
Doctors in Germany assured Ahmed that if they continue treatment, Fatima will soon be able to eat normally.
Dar Al Ber, various charities and the hospital in Germany have covered the cost of Fatima’s treatment by dividing it into four trips to make it less costly, but Ahmed was forced to discontinue the trips.
He has been to only one of the four required visits.
“I can’t afford to go back. The doctor is waiting for us and we have paid all the fees and the hospital costs but I can’t afford the tickets or the stay in Germany.”
Ahmed estimates that he needs Dh70,000 per visit for tickets and accommodation.
His next visit is scheduled for Tuesday, but he does not have enough money.
Dubai Health Authority says that what has happened to his wife is medical malpractice.
“I could have sued and got thousands but what was more important? To use the money to treat Fatima or to use it on lawyers and court cases? Fatima is all that matters to me in this world,” Ahmed says.
Hisham Al Zahrani, manager of Zakat and social services at Dar Al Ber, says its frustrating in that enough has been done to raise the money to pay all of Fatima’s medical costs.
“But it is the costs of the tickets and accommodation that is holding her back, which is why through The National that the family is asking for help to continue their daughter’s treatment.”
salnuwais@thenational.ae
