Embassy and hospital officials, friends and community groups are rallying round to help repatriate a stroke victim who has been lying unconscious for seven months in a Bahrain hospital and to provide care for him once he gets home.
Forty-six-year-old Bangladesh expatriate Mohammed Ziaur Rahman was found unconscious at his Muharraq home on June 14, by his Indian wife, Poonam Rahman.
He suffered an ischemic stroke and up until two weeks ago had to be kept on a ventilator at the King Hamad University Hospital (KHUH). Mr Rahman remains unconscious and immobile but medics say he is well enough to be flown home under specialist supervision.
A Bangladesh Embassy spokesman told the GDN that the BD3,500 cost of transporting him is ‘being taken care of’, which includes the air fares for a stretcher-seat and medical assistant.
“The embassy is aware of the case and we are working on the repatriation procedures,” said a spokesman.
“The KHUH has offered the air tickets while the ambulance part in Dhaka will be taken care of by the home government.”
Ms Rahman, 43, offered her thanks and gratitude to both the hospital and embassy.
“Right now, all I want is to take him back home to Dhaka where I will have some family support – here I am all alone with our son,” said Ms Rahman.
“My husband remains unconscious but is considered fit to travel after doctors were able to remove the ventilator two weeks ago after almost six months. The doctors said that there was nothing much more they could do for him now.”
Mr Rahman was working as a general manager in a four-star hotel and he resigned in January last year to take up a new position. However, the pandemic delayed the recruitment process and the family ended up struggling to make ends meet.
“We lived off our savings and we also took out loans,” his distraught wife explained. “Suddenly, one morning, I found my husband unconscious. I know he was under stress, but never thought it would end up this bad.”
Increasing levels of psychosocial distress are related to the risk of both fatal and nonfatal stroke in adults, according to research.
“Often stress, when combined with other factors, leads to triggers for disease,” one leading medic said. “Sometimes stress can cause inflammation, hypertension, or other vascular conditions – and it’s these that can lead to stroke or heart attack.”
Ischemic stroke occurs when a blood clot blocks or narrows an artery leading to the brain. It can occur in the carotid artery of the neck as well as other arteries. This is the most common type of stroke.
The couple were colleagues in Dubai, working for a restaurant chain, fell in love and married. They moved to the UK for two years, where Mr Rahman worked in a hotel, while Ms Rahman worked for the Royal Mail. The two came to Bahrain in 2017 with their son, Rehan, who was five at the time.
“I am grateful to the KHUH and the Bangladesh Embassy for all the help they have been giving,” said Ms Rahman. “Honestly, I don’t know what will happen next. I will need to take him to a hospital in Dhaka and take it from there and the cost of treatment and caring for him is playing on my mind. We’ll need all the help we can get and I would like to thank everyone who has stepped forward and the friends who have launched an appeal to help us.”
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