RIYADH, 12 October 2006 — A father of a patient with an incurable disease has appealed for funds from the Kingdom’s philanthropists in order to provide medical treatment for his son. The treatment costs SR1,000 per day.
Syed Kumail Abbas, who is five years and seven months old, is suffering from hemophilia. It is a bleeding disorder in which the blood does not clot normally. Persons with hemophilia bleed for a longer time than others after an injury or accident. They also may bleed internally, especially in the joints such as knees, ankles and elbows.
“My son needs two Factor VIII injections daily which cost SR500 each. If the injections are not given regularly, there is a fear that he will lose his legs since the wounds are on his knees,” Syed Zafar Abbas, who works as a sales executive in a private establishment in Riyadh, told Arab News.
Although the father gets a good salary, he said he could afford SR1,000 daily. Kumail was born with the disease and was brought to Riyadh by his parents two years ago. He has an elder brother Hamza who goes to school in Riyadh. “Kumail wants to go to school like other children but his sickness does not allow him to do so,” the father laments, adding that he had made arrangements with a tutor to teach him the school syllabus at home.
The child was treated free-of-charge at the Riyadh Central Hospital by a Royal Court instruction which has expired. The father said that he had appealed to the Royal Court to renew the instruction for the treatment facility. “I pray and hope that it will come through and then I won’t need to depend on public funds,” Abbas said.
He said that he wants to make an appeal to the Pakistan Embassy in Riyadh and to other community groups. Those interested can contact him on 0502471123 or 01-2901709.
