Comatose maid to be airlifted home
Nurye stuck in hospital for two months after going into coma soon after arriving in Dubai
A27-year-old Ethiopian housemaid, who has spent two months in hospital after going into coma within 48 hours of her arrival in the UAE, is likely to be airlifted back home as the Ethiopian consulate is working to facilitate her repatriation.
Najjat Mohammad Nurye arrived in Dubai to work as a housemaid on July 21 this year. Within two days, she was rushed to hospital after being found gasping for breath and foaming at the mouth.
Dr Kishen Pakkal, CEO of International Modern Hospital (IMH), where Nurye was brought by paramedics, told
Gulf News: “We are a tertiary care hospital and have a policy of never turning away a patient who comes to our emergency.
“On July 23, Nurye was brought to the hospital in a comatose condition. She was gasping for breath with pooled salivary secretion and high grade fever. She was intubated in the emergency room and placed on mechanical ventilator. It was suspected to be a case of attempted suicide by poisoning.”
Suspected poisoning
Dr Pakkal added that Dubai Police along with paramedic staff stated that an empty bottle of Vaseline was found beside the maid. “Suspecting that she had consumed poison, we conducted various tests to diagnose poisoning and treated her on those lines. So far, we have not been able to establish this,” he said.
Two months on, Nurye continues to be critical in the intensive care unit of the hospital with assisted breathing. She has no family or friends to help her out.
A multidisciplinary medical team (critical care/intensivist, neurologist, gastroenterologist, and nephrologist) at IMH continues to provide supportive treatment. When contacted, her sponsor was unavailable for comment and has not come forward to foot the medical bill, Dr Pakkal said. As of Monday, the bill had reached Dh550,000.
Recently, Nurye showed some response by opening her eyes, or crying, but technically she continues to be in coma. Dr Sa’ad Al Abbasy, specialist, Critical Care at IMH, told Gulf News: “The patient showed spontaneous eye opening, but is unresponsive to pain. She may remain in this semi-conscious state for a long time.”
While hospital authorities have no idea who will foot the bill, they feel the sooner Nurye is flown home the better it will be for her convalescence.
The hospital has contacted the Ethiopian consulate, which is making attempts to contact social workers or NGOs in Addis Ababa who can bear the expenses of repatriating Nurye to her village.
“She is in a stable condition and can be airlifted, so we are trying to send her home. I met the consul-general of Ethiopia, Yibeltal Alemu, who has expressed a desire to cooperate on sending Nurye back to Ethiopia,” Dr Pakkal said.
A senior official from the Ethiopian consulate in Dubai confirmed this to Gulf News.