The past few weeks have been absolutely heartbreaking and tragic for my best friend’s father and her family. Her 68-year-old father, Mohammad Al Mallees, suffered a life-altering spinal cord injury in his neck while visiting Syria. The injury was caused by a freak accident – he sat on a plastic chair that snapped in two, leading him to fall back and hit his head against a wall and compress his spinal cord. He’s now a quadriplegic facing crippling medical expenses abroad, increasing by the day.
After his fall, he was taken to a local hospital in Syria. But his situation deteriorated following discharge due to lack of local medical capacity. My friend and her brother arranged for medical transport to a hospital in Beirut to get him better care. His quadriplegia became much worse (0 out of 5) upon application of the neck collar at the ER. He had emergency decompression surgery and has been in the American University of Beirut Medical Centre since, surviving a stint in the ICU, dangerous blood pressure shocks, and a serious post-operative infection. He has already regained some sensation and movement, but it’s still unclear what kind of recovery he will make. He will need 24/7 PSW care for the foreseeable future as he continues to be unble to press a button, turn his head to the side if he vomits, bring a straw to his mouth, feel pressure points/sores, or control his bladder or bowel. It has been nothing short of heartbreaking for us to witness as the volatility of his situation has left so much uncertainty.
Right now, our focus is on getting him urgently back to Canada. Because he did not have travel insurance, he’s facing mounting medical bills. His hospital bill now stands at more than $65,000, and getting him a stretcher medical escort back to Canada will cost $64,000-$115,000, depending on which company ends up approving his transport and the level of on flight medical personnel and equipment they assess is necessary.
We are desperate to get him home as soon as possible so that he can get the medial care he needs as well as to start specialised spinal cord rehab immediately, as there is a narrow window of time during which he has a realistic hope of regaining critical functions.
We’re hoping to raise some money to help with these crushing expenses and get him back to Canada safely. He lives on a very modest old age security pension and his two children will be taking on all his non-covered costs for the remainder of his life. If you can afford to contribute, anything would be appreciated. And if not, please consider sharing this widely so that we can get some traction.
With deep gratitude, on behalf of Mohammad’s family.