Premier ends agony of dead teenager’s family

Manama : The agony of a Bahraini family that was struggling to retrieve their daughter’s body from a private hospital in Jordan came to an end, after the Prime Minister HRH Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa yesterday ordered to immediately repatriate the girl’s body.

The 17-year-old’s dead body was held by the Jordanian hospital’s administration, as around BD26,000 treatment fees were not paid by her family.

“Prime Minister HRH Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa gave orders to quickly repatriate the body of Bayan Riyadh, who died in a private hospital, and finalise all administrative and financial arrangements,” the Prime Minister’s Court said in a statement issued yesterday.  

The statement read, “The Premier ordered Foreign Affairs and Health ministries, as well as Amman-based Bahrain Embassy, to ensure the follow-up, provide all assistance and take all required measures to repatriate the body of the deceased home.”

“Prince Khalifa extended condolences to the bereaved family and wished them solace and fortitude, after the family appealed to the competent authorities to help discharge the body of the deceased from a private hospital in Jordan,” the statement added.

The 12th grader died on Friday while receiving treatment in Jordan and her body was kept in the chilly morgue of the hospital as her family was unable to pay the due treatment fees.

The family of Bayan pleaded to the authorities to interfere and release their daughter’s dead body, after the hospital refused to do so unless the remaining BD26, 000 treatment bills are settled. The total cost of Bayan’s treatment crossed BD46,000.

DT News yesterday spoke to a close relative of Bayan, who suffered from Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), also known as autoimmune connective tissue disease.

SLE is a disease in which, the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissues and is known as “the red wolf disease” in Arabic medicine.

The relative, who preferred not to be named, explained to DT News that the deceased was first diagnosed with SLE in 2010, when it attacked her kidneys.

“We took her to Jordan back then and she was given medications that hibernated the virus for six years. The disease attacked once again by the end of March this year. No one thought it was the same disease initially, until she suddenly got paralysed while in school. This time, the virus targeted her respiratory system,” he said.

The relative continued, “After unsuccessful medical experiments here, her parents decided to take her back to the same doctor in Jordan. She remained in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) there for around 45 days before she succumbed to the disease. Her mother travelled back to Bahrain the next day, while her father stayed there to complete formal procedures. The hospital’s non-humanitarian decision to keep the body of his daughter until the money was paid added to his grief.”

According to the relative, the father had approached all the related authorities to end this dilemma. He finally asked assistance from the Bahraini Ambassador to Jordan Nasser Al Kaabi, who spared no efforts in resolving the
issue.

The relative expressed his gratitude to the Premier for instructing to end their suffering and quickly repatriate the body of Bayan so she can be laid to rest in her homeland.

He described the deceased as “a very calm and sweet person” recalling that “she was among the toppers of her class and was set to graduate this month”.

Bayan’s body should reach here today and will be laid in her final resting place at her hometown in Sanabis.

A ruthless hospital

The relative shared the “horrible” experience of Bayan’s family with the private hospital in Jordan, describing the facility it as “merciless and materialistic”.

He claimed that they have witnessed children dying in their parents hands there, because they weren’t able to pay the treatment expenses.

“They simply rejected taking two children’s cases in the hospital for the sole reason that they weren’t able to pay. They both died on their parents’ lap, while they (the parents) were begging the hospital staff to save their children’s lives,” he narrated.

When asked why they chose this particular hospital to admit their daughter, he explained that they followed the recommendation of the doctor, as his clinic was in the vicinity of the hospital, so he can quickly attend to Bayan in any case of emergency.

The relative shared his doubts that the hospital may have misused the body of Bayan.

“A hospital with such ethics is very likely to misappropriate her organs. We have our doubts and we will demand to fully examine our daughter’s body,” he added.