Eman Ahmed Abdelati, the 500-kg woman who was being treated in Mumbai for her obesity, may now be shifted to a hospital in Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates.
The development comes amid allegations by members of Eman's family — especially her sister Shaimaa Selim — that Dr Muffazal Lakdawala, who has been treating the 36-year-old woman, has made false claims of her weight loss after surgery in March. Lakdawala, meanwhile, has claimed that Shaimaa is levelling these allegations because she does not have the funds to take Eman back to their hometown, Alexandria in Egypt.
Shift to Dubai
Eman, who is to be discharged in just a few days from the hospital in Mumbai, will be subsequently shifted to the Burjeel Hospital of VPS Healthcare in Abu Dhabi, a top official from the company has told a publication from the Middle East.
The official — VPS Healthcare's Medical Evacuation (Medevac) division director Sanet Meyer — has also said: "This is a humanitarian mission and we are committed to it. This will be a complete bed-to-bed transfer of the patient and we are finalising all the logistics on either side as well as air-borne facilities required for the patient to make this journey."
Path to recovery?
VPS Healthcare Chairman and founder Dr Shamsheer Vayalil was recently in Mumbai with an extended team to assess the health situation of Eman and chalk out plans to airlift her to Abu Dhabi.
He was quoted by the Middle-Eastern publication as saying: "I am very happy to be able to assist Eman in her journey of good health. Our hospital team was the first to offer her the bariatric surgery and airlift her to Abu Dhabi from Alexandria, Egypt. So I feel a connect with her and am committed to this humanitarian mission to provide a new lease of life to the patient."
