SHARJAH // The family of a 22-year-old woman who was paralysed after she was hit by a car as she crossed a busy street have spoken of their heartbreak and horror.
Their moving story was told at the same time as a study released by the Police Research Centre showed an increase in runover accidents blamed on drivers not giving way to pedestrians.
Maymonah Mohammed has been unable to move or even talk since the accident in the Al Taawun neighbourhood in August last year, and has to be fed through tubes.
After the accident, Fatima Hussein, Maymonah’s mother, flew to the UAE from her home in Chad to be at her only child’s bedside, often sleeping in the same room.
“Her father has passed away and she is my only child. Maymonah has been in the country for four years. She came here as a bride and lived in Sharjah,” said Ms Hussein.
Staff at Al Qasimi Hospital have been treating Maymonah with physical therapy. However, they said her condition was unlikely to improve, and for all their efforts the best they could do was to keep the young woman as comfortable as possible.
“She is in a vegetative state. We cannot bend her knees, her hands are closed in a fist, we can’t open them unless we use some force, which sometimes hurts her,” said a nurse supervising her case.
Maymonah’s husband, Abdulaziz Eid Suliman, visits the hospital every day to check on his wife.“The accident was tragic and now she has been here since last year. Nothing has changed,” he said.
He has been told that Maymonah’s hospital care would only be paid for by his health insurance in event of her death or her full recovery. He is saving up to pay for her to travel to India in the hope of finding treatment that could improve her condition.
However, after having spent so much time receiving treatment, Mr Suliman said the hospital was keen to discharge his wife because doctors said there was nothing more medically to be done.
Officials at Al Qasimi Hospital said that Maymonah should have been returned home in December last year.
“It’s a tragic case, but there is nothing more to do for her and the hospital is in desperate need of beds to treat others,” said Naeema Al Nakhee, a public relations officer at the hospital.
Mr Suliman said he was unwilling to move his wife away from specialists who could treat her quickly in an emergency.
“Because I don’t have power of attorney over my wife, the insurance company won’t pay for her treatment outside the country,” said the husband, who lost a lawsuit to plead his case.
“The court said that although I’m her husband, I don’t have power of attorney and gave a ruling in favour of the insurance company. The company told me they will pay the bills only when she dies or leaves the hospital in good health.”
This has left him and the rest of the family in limbo – unable to do anything other than give each other moral support and pray Maymonah improves.
Mr Suliman said the driver who ran his wife over was arrested, jailed for 20 days and given a Dh2,000 fine.
tzriqat@thenational.ae
