Muharraq family seeks helping hand

Manama : A Bahraini woman is seeking the help of generous hands to raise around BD5,000 to continue her sister’s Ayurvedic treatment in India after losing medical hopes here. Fatima Mohammed, 47, an unemployed resident of Muharraq, says she has been solely taking care of her disabled siblings, Mumtaz and Jassim, since their father passed away in 1992. Fatima’s mother died in 2008.

She told Tribune that her sister Mumtaz, 45, lost her eyesight during a surgery she underwent in Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC) back in 1989 to  remove a tumour from her brain. The sister’s condition continued to worsen over the years with tumours repeatedly appearing in different parts of her body, mainly the brain. “This required several surgical interferences and she underwent operations in the brain multiple times between the years of 2005 and 2013,” Fatima said.

The woman said her sister also lost the senses of hearing, taste and smell, following a benign tumour removal surgery in the brain she underwent at SMC in 2013. “She lost almost all of her senses and cannot depend on herself. She can barely walk and needs fulltime attention to be fed and  cleaned,” says Fatima. The sister claimed that the medical staff of SMC were not cooperative with their case and “continually refused to admit Mumtaz at the hospital’s neurosurgery ward or provide medical assistant for her at home”.

Additionally, the woman said, being the person responsible for the patient’s care, she recently refused the request of a female neurologist in SMC to take samples from her brain for studying and research purposes. “I believe that my sister’s condition is sensitive and it worsened because of unnecessary medical procedures and avoidable errors. I’m worried that I may lose my sister if I allow them to conduct such tests and experiments on her,” Fatima said.

Ray of Hope

Fatima told Tribune that she has been communicating with specialised neurological centres and clinics abroad in recent years, especially after she was informed by doctors here that her sister’s case is hopeless and that “there’s nothing that could be done to improve her condition”. Tribune obtained a copy of a medical report issued by neurosurgeons at SMC on March 16, 2017, stating that “the patient suffers a brain tumour and is now bedridden and has permanent hearing and vision impairment” adding that “there is no treatment for these disabilities”.

The woman said that a number of friends recommended an alternative medicine centre (Ayurveda) in India, where she admitted Mumtaz for three months back in 2017. “I managed to raise around BD8, 000 and we travelled to India in July last year. The doctors there suggested to undergo treatment using herbal medicines, without any surgical interference.

Amazingly, Mumtaz’s condition showed slight but immediate improvement. She was able to express herself in a few words, hear and could actually taste food after four years of senselessness,” Fatima said. According to a report issued by Kottakkal Ayurveda Hospital in Kerala, India, Mumtaz responded to the three-month course treatment very well. It was also mentioned in the report that as a result of the treatment, “the patient can hear from a good distance and is now replying to questions”.

“She is recognising people as well. She is feeling the movements of objects and some colours like black sometimes. Also in the recent MRI brain there are no signs of tumour on brain cells,” the doctors added in the report. Fatima told that she was advised by the doctors there to visit again after six  months, but do to her difficult financial situations, she wasn’t able to afford the trip to India.

“My father passed away 26 years ago and my mom joined him 16 years later. Unfortunately, he didn’t leave us any inheritance. We are depending on BD170 monthly allowances given to Mumtaz and Jassim each. I was divorced after my mother passed away because all my time was dedicated to caring for my siblings,” Fatima added. The woman also takes care of her 34-year-old disabled brother Jassim. She told that Jassim was born with mental and physical disabilities. He’s unable to walk or speak and suffers from neurological seizures (epilepsy) from time to time. He has no senses in his limbs and is on a wheelchair.