Meet Muhammed

“We sat down with the doctor. He said he had some bad news. He told us that Muhammed Eesa won’t leave the hospital; that I will only leave the hospital with one child.”

Less than a week after giving birth to her twins by C-section at a private hospital, Sharmiela listened as the doctor she trusted, handed out what sounded like a death sentence to her newborn son.

“And if he does survive, he won’t be able to walk, talk or do anything that his sister can do in the future,” the doctor continued.

In an attempt to refute him, Sharmiela displayed her faith in God. “How can you tell me something like that?!” she exclaimed, “Only God can make that decision.” His reply seemed as callous as his practice: “No, but that is reality.”

You see, the twins were born just five days before, by C-section. Already, that places them at risk for jaundice. Babies delivered earlier than 38 weeks are possibly more susceptible to developing jaundice, as their bodies may produce more bilirubin than their still-developing liver can cope with.

In the private hospital’s neo-natal ward where the twins stayed after the birth, the nursing staff noticed the typical yellow tinge of a jaundiced baby’s skin in Muhammed. They only alerted the doctor the next day. There was no urgency here. Even the doctor did not prioritize little Muhammed. By the time they attended to the jaundice, the damage was beyond repair.

It is almost impossible to imagine the forgiveness that must rest in this mother’s heart.

The private hospital ran more tests, and at no point did they take responsibility for the delay in care. Instead, they began testing the mother’s blood to find a reason for the Muhammed’s jaundice.

Delivered early, the twins were always going to be at risk of jaundice in the first few weeks. His sister was perfectly healthy. Muhammed wasn’t.

If jaundice is severe and left untreated, then the high levels of bilirubin in a newborn’s blood could result in a type of brain damage called Kernicterus. It could lead to athetoid Cerebral Palsy and hearing loss. Kernicterus also causes problems with vision and teeth and sometimes intellectual disabilities.

Most moms are cautioned to look for jaundice in the early days of their child’s life. With swift treatment, jaundice is reversible and causes no harm. Sharmiela entrusted the care of her newborn twins to the neo-natal ward at a local private hospital. She is still angry.

Her mom comes with her to Muhammed Eesa’s appointments at the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital. They’ve been coming here for a few years now. Muhammed loves company, and if you leave him alone for longer than he likes, he’ll let you know. Sharmiela has noticed the improvements that these visits have made in Muhammed’s development and interaction. She gets excited about the progress she observes when he works with his physio team at the Children’s Hospital. “They help me and guide me,” she adds.

“He is improving now. He’s starting to grab things. Words are coming out slowly, but surely.”

She is so proud of her beautiful boy. He is very calm as he observes the goings-on from his extra comfy buggy. He looks right into the lens and smiles. That’s a special feeling for whomever is on the receiving end. It’s an opportunity to get a glimpse of a higher power that medicine can never fully touch, but for which it is designed to be an instrument. Muhammed’s curls crown his head like a halo. This little angel has brought his family together to support his mom as she works to ensure that he has the best care available to him. She talks about a school that offers physio and speech therapies that will benefit her son greatly. And her only concern is that he might laugh too much in class. She giggles. And then you see it. Her little miracle has blessed her with joy to ease the hurt and soften the anger.

There is a poem about footprints in the sand; and when you see only one set, you fear that God has forsaken you, yet in that moment you understand that God was carrying you all that time. So, perhaps when we carry our children, we are that much closer to God.

Little Angels like Muhammed are beneficiaries of the great work done by the Children’s Hospital’s orthopaedic department. They get specialist multidisciplinary care which not only saves parents time but spared them from multiple hospital visits.

Help us build a new 30-bed Orthopaedic Unit at the Red Cross War Memorial Childrens Hospital. 100% of your donations will go directly towards the project.