Dubai: When insurance covers your newborn up to an amount of Dh1 million, a parent might feel completely reassured. But Shabbir Ahmad, 32, is at his wit’s end as the expenses of his prematurely born son have already rocketed to Dh1.3 million and going up by the day.
Ahmad’s wife delivered their first son, Mohammad Abu Bakr, at one of Dubai’s leading private hospitals on December 9, 2014, at 24 weeks and five days as against the normal gestational period of 36 weeks. Ahmad, a Pakistani software developer for a local company in Dubai, told Gulf News: “My son was extremely premature and with a weight of merely 800 grams. He was admitted immediately to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and has been there since.”
The baby had to be put on ventilator for a long period. He was unable to take his mother’s milk and has been kept on Total Parental Nutrition (TPN) which is a special mix of carbohydrates, fats and proteins prepared daily according to the nourishment requirements and fed intravenously. In between, Mohammad developed many other complications such as a blood infection, and Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP), an eye condition he developed for which for which he had to undergo laser eye surgery. He also had to be treated for jaundice and a blood clot near his heart which was not stable for many weeks. The doctors feared that it could cause death if dislodged. In addition to all this, Mohammad also suffered from chronic lung disease and his lungs are unable to expand naturally as he still depends on supplied oxygen.
The result is that the baby’s tummy is extended as many organs such as the spleen and liver have begun to exert pressure by pressing against his lungs. Mohammad, now at 40 weeks and three days, weighs above two kilos, but he still needs to be in the NICU and has to be operated for the blood clot near his heart.
Ahmad, who lives in a modest studio in Discovery Gardens, has no means of paying the excess amount. “My insurance limit of Dh1 million exceeded the limit on February 22 but the doctor’s estimate is to keep him for an additional six-eight weeks in NICU. According to the billing department of the hospital, the projected cost to cover the rest of the care will amount approximately to Dh625,000. I have already submitted a Dh300,000 cheque as a security so the treatment can carry on. I have tried multiple times to move my son to Latifa Hospital and Dubai Hospital, but was refused admission due to non-availability of space.”
Ahmad pleads for help from people. “ I cannot pay this amount,” he said. “We are going through a tough time although we still nurse the hope that everything will be all right and we will be able to take our baby home. The worry of trying to save my son’s life has left my wife and me emotionally and financially drained. I am under extreme financial stress and need financial help to save my baby, and to keep him in the hospital for an additional six-eight weeks that could save his life.
“I have nothing to give in return for your support but prayers,” he said.
