After losing one eye to tumor, child fights to save the other

Lojain Al-Rifaei in her hospital bed.

JEDDAH: At the age of one and a half years, Lojain Al-Rifaei suffered a cancerous tumor in her left eye which forced doctors to remove it by surgery and replace it with an artificial plastic eye.
In 2014, when she reached three years of age, the disease returned and this time the right eye suffered the same cancerous tumor, forcing the child to enter a race with time to treat this malicious tumor and win the battle against it.
The story of Lojain began when doctors informed her parents that her left eye required immediate medical treatment at King Khalid Hospital in Riyadh. After several diagnoses and analyses of the pathological condition, the child’s doctors decided to remove the eye and replace it with a cosmetic one.
Since that date the girl suffered greatly and had to receive chemotherapy at King Khalid Hospital in Riyadh, but her health worsened after a big tumor appeared in her right eye.
The girl’s uncle, Abdulaziz Al-Refaei, said that when her health deteriorated, they appealed to the hospital to schedule an earlier date for the child’s surgery but the family was told that the doctor concerned was on vacation and the surgery has to wait until his return.
“We were forced to resort to social media to highlight the suffering of Lojain and appeal to whomever could respond and help getting the child admitted to the hospital for surgery,” said the uncle.
This appeal was fruitful, he added, and princes, businessmen, doctors and many people called him to inquire about the situation of the child and how they could help.
“Also, a call came from Crown Prince Mohammad bin Naif’s office inquiring how they could help and I told all I wanted was an earlier date for the surgery. After only 15 minutes I receive a phone call from the hospital to inform me that I should go to them to admit my daughter to the hospital. She was admitted to the hospital on Aug. 20 and now is under treatment,” explained the uncle.
In an update of Lojain’s health condition, the uncle said the doctors decided to move the child to King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh for treatment.

Social media showed a video of the child crying from the pain of the tumor in her right eye.