MUMBAI:
Eygptian Eman Ahmed
, once the
world's heaviest woman
at 500 kg,
took off in a cargo plane modified as an air ambulance from the international airport at 7.41pm on Thursday , 83 days after she was brought to Mumbai, but not without some high drama marking her last couple of hours at
Saifee Hospital.
The
10-day-long standoff between her sister Shaimaa and
Saifee Hospital, Charni Road , got so intense on Thursday morning that state health minister Dr Deepak Sawant rushed in to broker peace. Shaimaa has made international headlines for her allegations against Dr Muffazal Lakdawala, the doctor who flew Eman down from Alexandria in Egypt for weight loss surgery and brought her down to 170kg in roughly three months.
In the morning, it is learnt, Saifee, as part of the transfer process, wanted Shaimaa to sign some legal clause, but she declined. Saifee has spent Rs 2 crore on Eman's treatment, including Rs 83 lakh to get her from Egypt to India.
The argument between Shaimaa and Saifee got to a point when VPS Healthcare's Bhurjeel Hospital team, who were taking her to UAE, said they'd take Eman without signing the papers. “We were ready for discharge against medical advice,“ said Dr Sajir Gaffar, CEO of Bhurjeel. This is when the state health minister was called in. Bhurjeel Hospital has agreed to provide free healthcare for Eman for a year.
Dr Gaffar told TOI the legal clause had no place in medical discharge details.“Thankfully , the health minister as well as DCP (zone 11) Dr Dynaneshwar Chavan, called by the hospital, were doctors who understood and asked the hospital to remove the clause,“ he said. There was another flashpoint when the VPS team wanted to get Eman down from her 7th floor room to the ambulance on their special stretcher, but the hospital wanted to use its wheelchair.
Shaimaa cried as cameras flashed through Saifee's lobby , and “thanked Indian doctors“.In the evening, she told TOI over phone she had had a “very difficult day . I want to thank India, but I don't want to comment about Saifee Hospital or Dr Muffazal Lakdawala.“
Talking to reporters, Dr Lakdawala said some legal paperwork had delayed Eman's exit from hospital. “There was some confusion that was later sorted out. We only wish Eman a speedy recovery ,“ he said. He and his medical team had earlier in the morning wished Eman an emotional goodbye in her 701room.
Health minister Dr Sawant said the state had coordinated with the Egyptian embassy and Dr Lakdawala on Eman's progress. Last week, as Shaimaa's allegations surfaced, Dr Sawant had checked Eman's file and said she was in good health. “There should be a standard operating procedure to ensure patients and kin are aware of treatment doctors plan. This will avoid misunderstandings,“ he added.
Eman's ambulance made it to the airport's T2 terminal from Charni Road within 18 minutes, thanks to a green corridor organized by Mumbai police. Her ambulance waited at the tarmac for the EgyptAir plane to arrive by 4.50pm. “We've been monitoring blood pressure and other vital parameters. We are ensuring she is hydrated,“ said Sanet Mayer from VPS Healthcare's medical evacuation team. The plane's takeoff was delayed by 90 minutes and it left at 7.41pm.
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