Pakistani father-of-two in coma flown home

Dubai: A 40-year-old Pakistani man, who is comatose for the past four months after a traffic accident, has been flown home to Lahore yesterday with the help of the consulate-general of Pakistan in Dubai.

Abid Hussain, a father of two, has been in a coma since November 2012 after he suffered a serious head injury in a traffic accident while on duty as a motorcycle messenger for a Sharjah-based company. It was only his second day on the job when the accident happened.

“Despite undergoing many operations and doctors’ best efforts, he remained in a vegetative state since admission to Sharjah’s Al Qasimi Hospital, Haroun Malek, the consulate’s Community Welfare Attaché said.

He added that at the consulate’s request, the hospital waived all the charges incurred on the treatment of Hussain.

Malek said a neurosurgeon has advised that Hussain be shifted to Pakistan at the earliest due to “increasing complications in his condition”.

Hussain, who is the sole bread winner for his family and now needs constant medical attention, was assisted by a nurse and a cousin, Shahid Mola, on the Pakistan International Airlines flight to Lahore. His wife and sisters were to receive him at Lahore airport, with plans to admit him to a neurosurgery unit of a hospital there.

Malek said Hussain has lost both parents and his wife and three sisters are too poor and do not have the means to airlift him to Pakistan. The consulate decided to help him after his relatives contacted Pakistani officials in Dubai, he said. According to the hospital reports, it is uncertain whether Hussain will be able to regain his consciousness and be able to stand on his own feet again.

His cousin Mola said Hussain, despite having a Bachelor of Science degree, had taken up the job of a motorcycle messenger in order to feed him family. He said the accident occurred when Hussain’s motorcycle was hit from behind by a car. “There have been difficulties in securing Hussain’s compensation and insurance payout as he had no power of attorney to pursue his case in court,” Mola said. The victim did not get any compensation either from the company or the person who hit him, Mola added. He appealed to the consulate and the authorities concerned to help his cousin get his dues for his treatment in Pakistan and to help the family. Hussain, from Bakhar village, has two young children, aged six and three.