A baby born weighing just 800g, a family’s struggle to afford her care
Khadeejah is gaining strength but the cost of her treatment is a problem
Khadeejah knows nothing of this world other than the walls of an intensive care unit at a hospital in Dubai, where she was born six weeks ago. Her mother, Saira Mahetab, 34, was seven months pregnant when she visited a doctor for a routine ultrasound.
The results showed Khadeejah’s life was in danger and doctors said she needed to be delivered immediately.
Khadeejah was born weighing just 800 grams and was rushed to the neonatal intensive care unit.
But a few days after the birth, doctors told the mother of three that her daughter had swelling in her intestine. They told her she had to move her newborn to another hospital because they did not have the expertise to care for the baby.
Last month the couple went doorto-door searching for a doctor who could help Khadeejah.
“We approached almost every hospital in Dubai,” Ms Mahetab says. “Almost all of them either said that they did not had a paediatric surgeon or that they did not have an available bed.”
Eventually, a government hospital agreed to take Khadeejah.
“They told us that caring for Khadeejah would cost a lot of money and that we had to deposit money and give them a guarantee,” Ms Mahetab says.
The hospital estimated the cost of the her care at about Dh386,000.
Her husband paid the hospital where his wife gave birth Dh50,000 and gave them a blank cheque as insurance. Now the family have been told their daughter may require surgery and she is still not well enough to be brought home.
“I just want to hold her and take her home,” her mother says.
Khadeejah now weighs 1.7 kilograms but doctors are waiting for her to gain another 300g and for the family to pay the outstanding fees before she can be discharged. Their insurance company agreed to cover 80 per cent of the cost but they still owe the hospital Dh65,000.
“I can’t afford it. I had already taken out a loan for the initial Dh50,000,” says Mr Mahetab, 37. “They didn’t allow me to admit my daughter without paying Dh30,000 and are now calling me several times a day for the remaining Dh65,000.”
The family have lived in Dubai for three years and, while Mr Mahetab has a job, they also support their extended family in Pakistan.
Hisham Al Zahrani, manager of zakat and social services at Dar Al Ber Society, hopes the public can help to settle their bills.
“Without help, Mr Mahetab’s family will not be able to pay the cost and according to regulations at many hospitals, a birth certificate will not be issued until the amount is settled,” he said.