WANTED: MILK OF HUMAN KINDNESS
Parents need help to pay off hospital bill, buy the special formula their baby needs and get genetic testing for the boy and his sister, who is also ill, writes Shireena Al Nowais
Parents can’t afford special formula for disabled baby,
ABU DHABI // The Syrian parents of two children with disabilities are asking for financial support to help cover the cost of medicine.
H S has a daughter aged 15 and a two- month- old son, both of whom suffer from mental disabilities and hereditary illnesses. They need regular medication.
“My wife and I are cousins and before the birth of my son doctors told us that he might suffer from a hereditary disease,” the 45-year-old schoolteacher said.
“My daughter is now 15 but has the mental capacity of a threeyear old.
“Thankfully, she has no physical difficulties.”
However, his young son cannot digest regular formula milk and is unable to be breastfed.
The boy requires a special formula but the family does not have health insurance, so meeting the cost is a problem.
“Thankfully, the hospital agreed to treat my children for free and cover the medication,” H S said.
The hospital cannot pay for the formula milk his son needs to survive and H S does not have the means to pay for it.
“A donor paid for two months’ of formula but now the money has run out and we can’t afford to buy this milk,” he said.
It costs about Dh1,500 for one month’s worth of formula. “Every year it’s around Dh15,500 which I can’t afford,” H S says.
Doctors told him his children also needed a blood test which had to be sent abroad to determine which gene had been affected and how they could help the children to lead a normal life.
“My kids might finally get a chance to get better,” H S said, but the blood test costs Dh7,000 for each child. “I can barely afford our basic necessities each month.”
The father has six children and supports family in Syria.
“I’ve never asked for any money from anyone and always managed until the end of every month but when additional expenses come up I can’t afford it.” H S also owes a government hospital Dh24,000 for the delivery of two of his children.
“All my expenses are signed and stamped by a government hospital,” he said.
“We will not receive any of the money ourselves.
“We are in desperate need for any donations and it all goes to the hospital’s account and not to my account.”
H S was asked by the hospital to apply to charities for donations to pay for his son’s formula milk and the gene test.
“They told me to come to them immediately if a donor came forward so they could do the test and send it abroad.” Hisham Al Zahrani, manager of social services at Dar Al Ber Society, said: “Donations are this family’s only hope for the well-being of their children. “We hope that the community will come forward and help this family.”