Ajman: Thumira, the premature baby boy, who was stuck in an Ajman hospital because his father could not afford to settle the bill, has finally come home after Gulf News readers stepped in to help.
Gulf News highlighted the family’s plight in a story published on May 23 after which readers came forward to clear the remaining Dh30,000 of the Dh89,000 hospital bill.
The baby was born at GMC Hospital on April 17, the first child of Nalin Rukshan and his wife, who are Sri Lankan expatriates.
Rukshan, a 30-year-old salesman, took his wife to GMC Hospital in Ajman thinking that it will cost him less compared to having the delivery in Dubai. “When I told them that I did not have enough money they have me a discount of Dh4,300 and asked to keep my wife’s passport as a guarantee,” he said.
The baby was kept in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the hospital, which costs Dh4,000 per day. “Taking pity on my poor financial situation the doctors did not charge me for the cost of the medicines,” Rukshan said.
Thanks to the generosity of readers, the mother can now obtain her passport that was held by the hospital.
Rukshan, 30, had only managed to clear Dh56,000 of the bill. He contacted a Sri Lankan charity association which paid Dh5,000 of the bill.
Rukshan had sold all of the couple’s jewellery and with some money received from his wife’s family in Sri Lanka, settled the initial payment of Dh65,000 (including delivery charges and part of the baby’s hospital bills).
