ABU DHABI // Many children have food allergies, but few are allergic to nearly everything.Two-year-old Fatima is such a child. Apart from water, a sip of milk or a grain of rice will have the toddler vomiting blood for weeks.
“It began during her birth,” says her father, Ahmed Abdulla. When his wife started haemorrhaging after a Caesarean delivery, the doctor gave her an overdose of medication to stop the bleeding.
“The normal dose is three millilitres, she gave her 7.5ml.”
The overdose resulted in severe complications, but the worst was that most of the medication was absorbed by Fatima.
“My wife’s lungs stopped functioning and her heart was enlarged. She was moved to intensive care but the doctors kept insisting that she breastfeed. I told them that it was impossible but they kept insisting.”
A few weeks later Fatima started vomiting and passing blood.
“I panicked. She was covered in blood. Such a tiny thing and there was blood all over her.”
The parents rushed her to hospital and, after several tests and endoscopys, doctors informed the parents that their child had a multiple food allergy – she is allergic to everything. She requires a special kind of milk and cannot have anything else.
“The milk costs Dh570 per can and one can will last two days,” says Ahmed, who recently lost his job. “I wanted my daughter to eat like every other child. We are always scared if she puts anything in her mouth. At lunch time, her mother would take her to another room so she wouldn’t see her two siblings eating.”
They also worry about her going to a nursery. “What if she takes a candy or anything from her friend?” Ahmed asks.
Despite being told there was no cure for Fatima, he refuses to give up hope for his daugter.
“A friend of mine is a doctor in Egypt and after months of looking we found a hospital in Germany that could cure Fatima.”
The family then sold their property in Egypt, all their belongings and with assistance from Dar Al Ber, flew to Germany in September.
“Now Fatima can eat five kinds of food. It was the happiest day of my life when she had her first bite. Pumpkin, that was the first food ever to enter her mouth.”
Doctors in Germany assured Ahmed that if they continue treatment, Fatima will soon be able to eat normally.
Dar Al Ber, various charities and the hospital in Germany have covered the cost of Fatima’s treatment by dividing it into four trips to make it less costly, but Ahmed was forced to discontinue the trips.
He has been to only one of the four required visits.
“I can’t afford to go back. The doctor is waiting for us and we have paid all the fees and the hospital costs but I can’t afford the tickets or the stay in Germany.”
Ahmed estimates that he needs Dh70,000 per visit for tickets and accommodation.
His next visit is scheduled for Tuesday, but he does not have enough money.
Dubai Health Authority says that what has happened to his wife is medical malpractice.
“I could have sued and got thousands but what was more important? To use the money to treat Fatima or to use it on lawyers and court cases? Fatima is all that matters to me in this world,” Ahmed says.
Hisham Al Zahrani, manager of Zakat and social services at Dar Al Ber, says its frustrating in that enough has been done to raise the money to pay all of Fatima’s medical costs.
“But it is the costs of the tickets and accommodation that is holding her back, which is why through The National that the family is asking for help to continue their daughter’s treatment.”
salnuwais@thenational.ae
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
The Equaliser 2
Director Antoine Fuqua
Starring: Denzel Washington, Bill Pullman, Melissa Leo, Ashton Sanders
Three stars
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Bio:
Favourite Quote: Prophet Mohammad's quotes There is reward for kindness to every living thing and A good man treats women with honour
Favourite Hobby: Serving poor people
Favourite Book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite food: Fish and vegetables
Favourite place to visit: London
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: ten-speed
Power: 420bhp
Torque: 624Nm
Price: Dh325,125
On sale: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
More from Aya Iskandarani
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Pearls on a Branch: Oral Tales
Najlaa Khoury, Archipelago Books
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Match info:
Burnley 0
Manchester United 2
Lukaku (22', 44')
Red card: Marcus Rashford (Man United)
Man of the match: Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
%E2%80%98White%20Elephant%E2%80%99
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Jesse%20V%20Johnson%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Michael%20Rooker%2C%20Bruce%20Willis%2C%20John%20Malkovich%2C%20Olga%20Kurylenko%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
