RIYADH, 16 February 2005 — A nine-month old infant from Sri Lanka has been brought here for delicate surgery on an initiative from Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal. Fathima Razeena, who is accompanied by her father, Mohamed Rameez, and mother, Zainab Kamila, is suffering from Exomphalos-major.
Exomphalos, sometimes called Omphalocele, occurs when the abdomen fails to close around the base of the umbilical cord during the early development of the baby.
The sac containing the exposed organs normally is covered in a protective membrane. In the case of Exomphalos-major, the sac is larger, and the umbilicus is attached to its inferior aspect. It contains the small and large bowel and frequently a portion of the liver.
“We tried our best to treat this disease within our financial means in Colombo and could not simply meet the high cost of medical expenses. So when we lost all hope in our motherland, we appealed to Prince Saud Al-Faisal through the Saudi Embassy in Colombo,” Mohammed Rameez said.
He pointed out that the Saudi ambassador in Colombo, Mohamed Mahmud Al-Ali, was kind enough to recommend the appeal to the proper authorities who then made arrangements for the baby to undergo treatment in the Kingdom.
Right after her birth at a rural hospital in Pasyala, Razeena was treated at the Lady Ridgeway Children’s Hospital in Colombo for three months.
Subsequently, she was transferred to Colombo’s Apollo Hospital where she underwent the first stage of her five-phase surgery.
“In Sri Lanka, each phase of the surgery cost SR30,000 which I cannot afford at all,” Rameez said, recalling that even the cost of the first surgery was borne by the Kuwaiti ambassador and his friends in Colombo.
Rameez , 28, works as an accounts assistant at a Jewelry shop in Negombo, some 40 km from the capital, while the 23-year-old mother is a housewife.
“This is my first child, and I never imagined such a thing could befall her. I am very happy that the Saudi government has come to our rescue to save my child,” the young mother said in tears.
“This is another example of Saudi generosity where it has extended a helping hand for a deserving family to have the costly surgery done in the Kingdom free of charge,” Sri Lankan Ambassador Ibrahim Sahib Ansar told Arab News.
Besides its corporate assistance to several government and non-governmental organizations, the envoy said this was the first time the Kingdom has come forward to help a family on an individual request. The envoy thanked Prince Saud and the Saudi ambassador in Colombo for their prompt response.
