Dubai: The family of an eight-year-old girl battling a rare strain of leukemia is hoping for a miracle that could save the life of their little girl.
Sherif Mahmoud Shawki, father of Sara, told XPRESS that his daughter was diagnosed with “acute myeloid leukemia with monosomy 7 and background myelodysplastic syndrome” in January this year, following which she was referred by a Sharjah private hospital to an Abu Dhabi hospital where she is being treated.
High risk
Sara’s leukemia, according to the hospital’s medical report, is “one of the high risk leukemias that need very intensive treatment and chemotherapy” which meant long spells in the hospital over six months. Shawki said Sara has completed one of six sessions of chemotherapy, but her condition requires that she urgently has a bone marrow transplant.
“We have even identified a hospital in the US which can provide her a matching donor but the problem is the treatment is beyond our reach.” An IT executive with a private firm, Shawki said the family needed a minimum of $350,000 which could well go up to $750,000 to complete the necessary treatment in the US.
“As a starting point, we will need $37,000 and we have no idea where we can manage that kind of money.”
He said Sara, who had been a very active girl until her diagnosis, deserved a bright future along with her younger sister Salma.
“The sense of helplessness makes it all the more painful for us. The thought of her being denied treatment because we cannot afford it shatters us.”
He said, “We could never have imagined that Sara would be grounded like this. She is too young to go through such an ordeal. I can only pray for a miracle and hope we get the help we so desperately need.”
Editor’s note: If you wish to reach out to Sara’s family, write to: editor@xpress4me.com or Whatsapp 056 508 9988
