TAIF — A five-year-old girl from Taif, who has been suffering a brain disorder, has been lying comatose in her family home for the past 20 months and doctors have not been able to work out what is wrong with her, Al-Sharq reported. Saad Al-Qathami, the father of the girl, Wujood, said his daughter had tripped and fallen headfirst almost two years ago. While that was a common occurrence for children her age, what was not expected were the spasms and loss of consciousness that followed. He added that Wujood has spent time at the Children's Hospital and King Abdulaziz Specialist Hospital in Taif, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Riyadh, the Maternity and Children Hospital of Jeddah, and finally the Maternity and Children Hospital of Makkah. Finally, Wujood and her father returned to their Taif home. Al-Qathmi said all of the medical teams who have handled Wujood's case failed to come up with a specific diagnosis for her case. He added that he has been told that Wujood could be suffering from cerebral atrophy or cell damage due to her fall, but doctors could not be sure. Al-Qathmi claimed that Wujood has undergone numerous medical checks, but none have identified the cause of her problem. Al-Qathmi said: “Feeling helpless, I demanded that local health officials intervene to save my daughter.” He added that Taif Health Affairs sent home doctors to the house once to check on Wujood but did not suggest any major operation to treat her. Al-Qathmi is still holding on to hope that his daughter will regain consciousness, though he is now massively in debt after installing various medical equipment to keep Wujood alive in his home. The official spokesman for Taif Health Affairs, Siraj Al-Humaidan, said the patient had first visited hospital 20 months ago. Back then, he said, she was diagnosed with internal brain damage after she had undergone an MRI procedure. The MRI, according to Al-Humaidan, also revealed that Wujood was suffering an abnormal increase in brain electrical discharge, leading to seizures, a slowdown in development and cramp in the limbs. Al-Humaidan said Wujood's last visit to the hospital was nine months ago. Asked about the home visit Health Affairs had organized for Wujood, Al-Humaidan responded that the hospital had no program for home visits. A report issued by the Maternity and Children Hospital in Makkah revealed a lack of care in Wujood's treatment. According to the report, Wujood spent a month on sodium salt and Topamax epilepsy pills when surgical intervention or more specialist treatment was required. The report also revealed that Wujood had contracted meningitis due to her fall, which developed into epilepsy. The report added that Wujood suffered epileptic seizures for 16 days, and was then struck down with fever. During the checkup on Wujood, it was noticed that her condition had impacted the muscles in her arms. A slowdown in eyelid function, the presence of mouth secretions and a loss of consciousness were all documented in the report. The report, however, did not indicate that the child was suffering from spasms or vomiting. It did, however, indicate that Wujood's temperature had climbed to 38.4 degrees Celsius, after which the sodium salt treatment was discontinued and replaced with Topamax epilepsy pills. As her condition deteriorated, Wujood began to exhibit constant drowsiness and then a total loss of control over her legs. Wujood then stopped responding to fever reducers and began to exhibit mydriasis and sensitivity to light. The report claimed that, after a month at the hospital, Wujood was removed by her father despite doctors' reservations. The father discontinued the Topamax treatment but continued to administer the sodium salt, the report claimed. Saad Al-Qathami rejected the allegations. He claimed that he had purchased SR7,000 worth of medical equipment as requested by doctors and that they themselves had discharged Wujood from the hospital.
