Gaza, Alray - Sitting motionless under falling roofing sheets with his worn out and musty dress and his body burdened with excess fat for lack of movement, Ahmed said "I wish I get healed and live normally without being ashamed of; I wish I can go down street"
Born Fine
According to his mother, Ahmed from Khan Younis in southern the Gaza Strip, was born natural, with 2.5 kg, in 1990; the symptoms of his body puffing up started to appear some 15 years from his birth date.
The family was first interviewed by Palestinian News Agency (Safa) in September 2011. The mother says "she had been working hard searching for someone among Gaza doctors to recognize the reason behind getting fatter\"
"His case was confusing to doctors; many of whom advised me to take him abroad. We went through a deep distress as there\'s any one to provide for the family and Ahmed's care in particular. My husband died 7 years ago. Ahmed, 21, Waleed, 19, Mohammed, 23, and Soaad, 8, were just having in-kind aid from charity" She says.
"Ahmed doesn't have a mental disorder, but his obesity contributed to his academic failure since his childhood, being limited to his home and usually on a sitting position," his mother holds.
"More than that, he easily gets irritated and aggressive after depression invaded him; he has a difficulty in standing and sleeping on his back and keeps crying while we stay up next to him during night"
"The sagging fat made it difficult for him to urinate, and caused his skin to peel off, which was a caller for us to give him painkillers and antiseptics. Moreover, we used to buy wear specially knitted for him"
Gaza government, Jordan Help
Ahmed's mother didn't leave an avenue to find an answer Ahmed's weight, which increased to 280 by the time of the interviewing.
"We appealed to the Prime Minister Ismail Haniyyeh to help Ahmed to recover; he thankfully responded by sending official delegates accompanied by a delegation from Gaza-based Jordanian Field Hospital"
The government delegation headed by the Director of Haniyyeh's Office presented urgent financial assistance. They also made an appeal on the family's behalf to Jordan's King Abdullah asking Ahmed to be treated abroad, according to the mother.
"Then Ahmed turned very hopeful and pleased to hear about Jordan's King responding to his appeal to receive treatment at the expense of Royal Court,"
Unfounded Hope
One and a half year later now, Safa correspondent returned to Ahmed's family to know how his medication in Jordan went on.
However, Ahmed's 11-month-long treatment in Jordan hasn't been a success. He is now 23 years old and his weight jumped to 500 kg or around.
Ahmed's pains don't seem to succumb. His body, especially his right leg, started to gradually inflate and to get redder, while his movement is much more restricted and sleeping is becoming far from attainable.
Ahmed's hope of a healthy life is now woefully waning. He turned frustrated after his medication attempts went to no avail. His suffering is no longer being seen as worth concerning to anybody.
A Demanding Ahmed
The family is being encountered with greater obsession about his very special needs. He doesn't sleep, excrete, nor dress as normally as human beings.
His mother says "he needs a special type of creams that costs about 30 shekels a day to reduce the inflammation of his body, not to mention the antibiotics barely working; he also needs a well-ventilated bedroom and air cooling for summer, so that his body wouldn't get dirty, and needs loose clothing, and finally a medicine to stop the fat flowing from his body"
His mother can do nothing but appeal to the officials from Ministry of Health, and to President Mahmoud Abbas, and Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh to feel compassion towards her son and to complete their efforts to provide treatment for him.
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