Paraplegic recovers to tells his story

A Saudi doctor attending the Saudi-American Healthcare Forum (SAHF) said he could hardly believe he is still alive after suffering a car crash in 1991.
“I’m sharing my experience to give hope to those who are similarly situated. If I had been hopeless after I was told I could never recover I won’t be here,” said Dr. Abdul Aziz M. Al-Dosari.
Al-Dosari, who walks with the help of a cane, is the director of scholarship at the Dispatch Department of the Saudi Red Crescent Authority (SRCA), where he is happy and enjoying his job.
Not only that. He was also able to receive two master’s degrees and a Ph.D. from the University of Warwick in Coventry, England.
But recovering and studying for postgraduate degrees had been made possible due to the help of the Saudi government.
“I’d like to thank the Saudi government and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif who helped me in my treatment and education ,” he said.
Al-Dosari, who is participating in the SAHF at the Ritz-Carlton in Riyadh, had a car crash in Wadi Dawaser in 1991. He could hardly move as a result. He was paraplegic.
He said that because of the help he received, he not only recovered and studied but also lived a normal life and raised a family.
“With the generosity of the government, I am now a happy husband, father of five children and living a normal life while working for a living,” he said.
He also thanked Prince Faisal bin Abdullah, SCRA president, and Dr. Rashed Al-Eed who gave him the chance to work at the SRCA.
He said that he was 24 when he graduated from King Fahd Security College. That was also the day when he had the accident. He was driving and fell asleep due to fatigue and the car crash took place.
He was airlifted to a military hospital in the Saudi capital some 700 km away.
“I was conscious but could not move. I had no control over my body,” he told Arab News on the sidelines of the SAHF forum on Monday.
He said a doctor at the military hospital told him that he could never walk again.
“He also told me that I won’t be able to sire children. It was very depressing,” he said.
He said that he was wheelchair-bound for two years and with a loan from a bank and help from the government, he went for treatment to the Czech Republic.
“After six months I came back. I could already walk and went to the hospital to see the doctor who said I won’t be able to recover. He was shocked,” he said.