Ramadan Kareem to you all!
One of our readers, Jennifer, dropped me a line this month, asking for help in attracting both practical and financial support for her family who face a very difficult situation following a tragic accident suffered by her son Carl, three years ago. From the very first month of launch, ExpatWoman has supported charitable initiatives through the site, and sometimes through the events, but we don't usually make collections through the coffee mornings; sadly there is no limit to the number of worthy causes and we prefer to leave you to make your own choices. Thus I hope you will not mind this exception and will feel as moved by Jennifer's story as I was. It is the nature of being young sometimes to make silly mistakes and wrong decisions; what a fickle hand of fate to have dealt Carl such a blow. In the spirit of the season, throughout Ramadan our coffee morning hosts have raffle tickets for sale to raise funds for the family, with a prize of Dinner for Two at Dante's, Grand Millennium and Two Gold Class Cinestar tickets to give away. We'll announce the winner after Eid. Moreover we are keen to help spread the word regarding the family's situation as others may be able to help them in a more practical sense. Any help will be much appreciated.
Many thanks,
Carl's Story
"Like most of us, we as a family, too decided to relocate to Dubai in search of greener pastures. Little did we realise what was in store for us. We moved to Dubai in Aug 2001.
To introduce our family, very briefly - We are a family of four - Franklin Noronha, my husband works for an Ad agency in Dubai and I, Jennifer Noronha, work for an IT firm as an Administrator. Our children, Carl, aged 22 years is a quadriplegic and Sharon, aged 16 yrs is studying in Grade 10 at St Marys School.
Life was not smooth and we had our share of ups and downs like everyone else. Both Franklin and myself had to juggle between office and home to balance the two. Carl is an adorable child and since he was our first child we doted on him. He completed his schooling partly in Hyderabad, India and the rest in Dubai. Since he was not too keen in pursuing his studies he decided to learn graphic designing at Franklin's office.All was well until that fateful day - a day which is hard to reckon with and overcome.
It so happened that Carl along with his friends decided to attend the Navratri celebrations at the India Club on October 19, 2007. Carl promised to return home soon after the event. Unfortunately, the event start was delayed and by the time Carl returned home it was past midnight.We were constantly in touch with him and each time he was very convincing and assured us he would be home on time and safe.
When Carl returned home that night he realized he did not have the keys to the house so he decided to use the rear entrance to the building. In a bid to climb a drainage pipe and enter the apartment from the rear entrance, the drainage pipe gave way and threw Carl from a height (two storeyed apt) to the ground. The impact of such a fall left Carl completely paralysed, numb and immobile.
On learning that Carl was not at home that night we called the India Club and Carl's friends and nobody knew of his whereabouts. It was much later that night did Franklin hear a faint cry near our kitchen balcony and we rushed to the spot where Carl lay. The sight left us devastated and in a state of shock. We have always seen Carl as a hyperactive and social child and to see him in a state of helplessness and immobile was unbelievable.
We rushed him to Rashid Hospital where he was treated for C6/C7 cervical spine injury and quadriplegia. At the time of admission Carl was completely numb and could not move any of his limbs. After three months of treatment at the Rashid Hospital Carl could move his hands but he had his limitations - he could not hold or grasp anything or do any of his personal routine.
Carl was later (Jan 2008) admitted to the Indian Spinal Injuries Centre (ISIC) in Delhi where he underwent rehabilitation for six months with vigorous physiotherapy. Carl returned to Dubai in Jun 2008. He is now wheelchair bound and totally dependent on a caregiver for most of his routine. The caregiver and myself follow a daily bowel and bladder programme followed by a shower every morning for Carl as he cannot do these jobs on his own.
He has, over time, learnt to eat his own meals and wear his clothes with assistance. At home, he spends most of his time reading books on general knowledge, watching TV and surfing the net.
Carl will soon complete three years since his accident and he has come a long way. He is motivated and in good spirit. He is confident there is hope to overcome this condition and move forward. We are grateful to God for the gift of Carl - no matter what happens we are there for him. We are hopeful that there is a ray of hope and with advancement in medicine and science surely that day is not too far when Carl will spring back in action.
For us as a family, however, life is not the same. We have had to make several adjustments at home and changes in our lifestyle as well. We still have dark memories of that fateful day and find it difficult to overcome that traumatic experience. We know we have to move on and never let our anxiety and worry become an obstacle but, the reality is, the one who goes through such an experience knows best.
One such experience that we would like to share with you is that whilst we were going through this bad patch here in Dubai we came across a lot of people with caring hearts. It was their unstinted support and unconditional love that helped us cope, to a certain extent, with this traumatic experience in our lives.
We are trying to help Carl in every way possible - Our aim is to make him as independent as possible. There are several adaptive devices for quadriplegics but most of them are beyond our means. We would like to improve Carl's mobility - currently his powered wheelchair is a real blessing - To be able to get him started on some work outside home we need to help him commute between home and office - for this, we would need a vehicle which would be able to accommodate his wheelchair using a basic ramp facility.
We have managed to obtain a ramp but the vehicle for such wheelchairs is unaffordable - We have seen a couple of adaptive vehicles at two different car showrooms here in dubai but it is just beyond us. We would appreciate support of some benefactors, volunteers, wellwishers who could helpus in procuring such a vehicle for Carl so that he can seriously start focusing on his work he plans to pursue and start earning for a decent living.
Carl also needs regular medical supplies in the form of adult size diapers, catheters, betadine, cotton, glycerine or xylocaine gels, Uvamin tablets (for UTI). Since we do not have medical cover for Carl these expenses are unaffordable. Appreciate if anyone knows of a hospital staff wherein we could procure such medical supplies on a charitable basis or atleast of a pharmacy where we could obtain these at cost or even less.
Every time we look at Carl we feel so helpless and we wish the best for him - We also have our fears as to what will happen to him if something happens to us. We only hope and pray with time Carl continues to improve in health and will have atleast achieved some level of independence personally, professionally and financially."
In posting this article, ExpatWoman hope Jennifer might have some success in attracting support from someone in the medical or vehicle business.
Looking at what Jennifer and her family have to face we know our efforts will merely be a drop in the ocean.
EW will be running a raffle throughout Ramadan to raise funds. If you want to help you can purchase One (1) ticket for AED50 or three (3) tickets for AED 100 at Coffee Mornings or from the ExpatWoman Office. Email Events@ExpatWoman.com for directions
Raffle Prizes - 1. Dinner for 2 at Dante, Grand Millennium Hotel
2. Two (2) tickets for movie of choice at any CineStar Gold Class cinema
If you feel you can help Jennifer you can contact her on: Tel: 050-3409010 or
Email : jennifer_noronha@hotmail.com