A BAHRAINI family has launched a new appeal for an operation that could allow an eight-year-old boy to walk for the first time.
The initial appeal for funds to help Ali Mohammed Yousif Al Mehza generated an overwhelming response and the family raised around BD3,000 after their ordeal was first published in the GDN two months ago.
The family at the time needed BD3,768, but following confirmation with Al Khalil Medical Centre, Jordan, for the operation, medical and other expenses added up to at least BD5,007.
Mother Umm Ali, claims his doctor at the centre contacted her, saying the operation would be successful but cost BD1,239 more due to complications.
Ali, mute and paralysed since birth, needs urgent surgery on his Achilles tendons to save him from permanent paralysis, according to doctors.
His family say the complicated operation cannot be carried out in Bahrain and must be done in Jordan.
Doctors believed he developed the condition due to complications during his mother's pregnancy, which caused his twin brother's death in her womb at 13 weeks.
Umm Ali, 45, says expenses for the operation and ticket prices had increased among other necessary purchases.
"I do not know where to get this kind of money and my husband has been so desperate he sold his car."
Since his birth, Ali has undergone treatment for seizures and surgery on his pelvis to enable him to sit and on his legs.
He was born at 35 weeks via Caesarean section and immediately diagnosed with severe microcephaly (a neuro-development disorder).
He stayed under observation at BDF Hospital for several weeks before being transferred to a paediatric clinic.
During his follow-up there, he started to show signs of cerebral palsy by the age of five months but no seizures were noted, according his reports.
Spasticity (disorder of the central nervous system) involving the upper and lower parts of his body was obvious when he was six months. At seven, there were signs and symptoms of a seizure disorder.
Umm Ali earlier told the GDN that doctors told her that he could never walk or move again but when she sent his reports to Jordan, she was told that he would be able to walk and move his arms - given the correct treatment.
She said they went to a hospital in Bahrain and told doctors that they were informed that Ali could walk again.
However, doctors said they cannot do these surgeries in Bahrain, she said.
She said her husband worked at the BDF and submitted Ali's reports to the medical committee to send him abroad.
After several visits to doctors in Jordan, they were told that Ali needed more surgery on his ankles, but the panel allows only a few visits for patients abroad.
Her husband, 45, earns BD400 a month and she is a housewife. They also have four daughters and live in Riffa.
Ali's doctor in Jordan, bone surgery and joints consultant Dr Ismail Gazal, said he "suffers from cerebral palsy, dysplasia of the left hip, scissoring of the lower limbs and Achilles tendons".
"His left hip and limbs have been operated on and we need to operate on his ankles and elongate the tendons to enable him to walk. If he is not operated upon soon we may not be able to do it in the future."
Donations can be made to Al Ahli Bank account number 0001654966060 or for details call 36504041 or 39818775.
