04 May,2017 03:50 PM IST | Mumbai | Rupsa Chakraborty and Gaurav Sarkar
After breaking and following the remarkable weightloss story of Egyptian Eman Ahmed Abdulati for five months, mid-day and Mumbai say, alvida. Eman will leave on an evening flight
Eman being transferred to an amubulance, which will take her to the Chhatrapati Shivaji International airport, from where she will fly to Abu Dhabi, UAE. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar
Mumbai's tryst with Egyptian national Eman Ahmed Abdulati, 37, finally came to an end today, when she was discharged from Charni Road's Saifee Hospital, which had become her home for nearly three months, to leave for Abu Dhabi this evening.
Eman, who was reported to have weighed close to 500 kg on arrival and now weighs 176.1 kg, left for Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport this afternoon, after special arrangements were made to fly her down to the UAE in Egypt Air's cargo airbus 300.
Health minister Deepak Sawant arrives at Saifee. Pic /Pradeep Dhivar
The last few weeks have been controversial for the patient and the hospital treating her, and her day of leaving was no different. The hospital witnessed high drama this morning when Eman's sister Shaimaa, who had made allegations of neglect against the hospital, refused to sign on the immunity report, a document that would safeguard the hospital and not have them liable in the event of her health deteriorating once she moved out of their premises.
State health minister Deepak Sawant arrived at the hospital at noon to resolve the ruckus. "There has been a slight delay in the discharge. We are preparing a few more documents in front of lawyers to avoid legal problems for the doctors who treated her here," confirmed Dr Aparna Govilbhaskar, section head for bariatric surgery at Saifee.
Earlier, a team from Burjeel Hospital, Abu Dhabi, had arrived in Mumbai. After completing all final formalities, including a psychological test, they were handed over a 29-page transfer docket. According to a source, another set of medical documents amounting to a couple of thousand pages, was also compiled and handed to the team. At close to 12.30 pm, Eman was shifted into an ambulance on a movable bed and left the hospital.
Meanwhile, several curious visitors thronged Saifee to bid adieu to the heavyweight. Doctors and staff that helped Eman through her weight loss and surgeries were by her bedside in room no 701 to say their goodbyes.
Eman's weight -- 176.1 kg -- being measured in the presence of the mid-day reporter
Shaimaa, who had accompanied Eman to Mumbai for the treatment, had briefly stepped out this morning to recharge her phone. "Eman has got a second chance to stand on her feet. I am of course feeling sad, but I have to do this for my sister. I will miss the city and am thankful to all the Indians for their help," she told mid-day.
On December 7, mid-day had first broken the story about bariatric surgeon Dr Muffazzal Lakdawala tweeting to Union Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj to help get Eman, the world's heaviest woman weighing 498 kg, a visa for a life saving surgery after most global experts had refused to take on her case.
In February, Eman left her home for the first time in 25 years, and her bed, for the first time in 13. Since her arrival in February, Eman has lost nearly 330 kg. mid-day's reporter recorded her successful weight loss on camera on April 26.
Despite the positive results, things turned ugly late last month when Shaimaa accused Dr Lakdawala and Saifee of washing their hands of the case, after which doctors from Burjeel Hospital in Abu Dhabi agreed to take her on.
A spokesperson from Saifee Hospital said that Eman was fit to fly. Dr Lakdawala, who was at the receiving end of Shaimaa's allegations, chose to put the ugliness behind him. "I took the risk for two reasons: it was challenging, and as a doctor, I couldn't refuse a patient who was a ticking bomb," he said.
