Overwhelming response for doctor lying in coma

Sharjah: The mother of a Palestinian doctor who has been in a coma for three years has reiterated her plea to be allowed to sponsor a carer.

Gulf News reported on Monday that the family were recently denied the ability to sponsor a domestic helper by the Sharjah Naturalisation and Residency Department (SNRD) because the sponsor's salary was too low. The family also cannot afford the fees charged by the Ministry of Interior for expatriates to sponsor domestic helpers.

After the report, many readers contacted Gulf News to offer financial support to the family. Some have offered to donate the full fees required to sponsor the carer. Many also visited the hospital and also sent letters to help Reem.

Dr Reem, who delivered twins about three years ago, remains paralysed and in a coma at Al Qasimi Hospital after complications resulting from a caesarian section.

Her mother, Zakiya Khalid (Umm Ramzi), blamed "negligent treatment" by the hospital after the operation. Reem now blinks occasionally and does not know what is going on around her. Her twins will turn three in February.

Ordeal

The family's ordeal continued recently after the hospital asked Dr Reem's mother to take her daughter home, as they need the bed for another patient.

"Reem has only me in life and I will do all I can to take care of my daughter," Umm Ramzi said.

She said she knows there are still good people in life and that many have offered to help her.

"I am praying to Allah that she will get better. My daughter's twins, Gassan and Beesan, have not yet been able to enjoy the love of their mother. They went to see their mother, lying in a coma," she said.

She continued that she tried to get a carer to help her daughter, but she was denied by SNRD.

"I was asked by SNRD to pay fees equivalent to my 12-month salary to the residency department in addition to a deposit of Dh5,000. The total amount which we have to pay per year to sponsor a carer is Dh12,000. I wish the residency department would allow me to sponsor a domestic helper for my daughter," she added.

She thanked Gulf News readers for offering help saying that she hoped to get a carer for her daughter soon with the help of well-wishers.