Woman who lost two kids seeks to save third
We haven’t paid room rent for four months and will soon end up in streets. I don’t know how long I can keep fighting like this.”
Sana Ghouse, Indian expat
abu dhabi — Losing a child is a devastating experience for any mother. In the case of Indian expat Sana Ghouse, she has already lost two — a girl to cancer and a boy born with brain defect; and her third child, is yet to utter a word and advised speech therapy. Adding to woes, her husband Shabaz Ghouse, was diagnosed with colon cancer.
The unfortunate chain of events affected the couple’s restaurant business as well. Debts mounted and last month, Shabaz was jailed for non-payment of credit card dues. A broke Sana, now seeks help to save her third child Amaan — her only ray of hope in life.
“I met Shabaz in Riyadh while both of us were working in a hospital as technicians. I converted to Islam from Christianity and changed my name from Reena Chacko to Sana. My family in Kerala didn’t accept my choice but in 2003 we got married at Shabaz’s native place of Hyderabad,” said Sana.
In 2006, the couple joined a private hospital in Abu Dhabi, and their first daughter Zarqa was born in 2008.
“Those were the happiest years of my life until in 2012 when I saw a swollen blue colour patch in her stomach. Zarqa was diagnosed with juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML), a rare childhood cancer. Her internal organs failed and she left us in just two months. In 2013, my second child, Mohid was born with brain defect. He was placed on home ventilator support and died this May.”
Shabaz was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2015.
“He underwent three surgeries. At one stage doctors told me Shabaz won’t survive but he recovered by 2016.”
She added: “Non-payment of credit card dues and personal loans resulted in Shabaz being jailed last month. We have a settlement of under Dh40,000. We haven’t cheated anyone but just that we never had time to recover from tragedies.”
“I have lasted this far by selling my ornaments but now got no money to feed my child. We haven’t paid room rent for four months and will soon end up in streets. I don’t know how long I can keep fighting like this. We have no relatives or even friends to support.”