Hyderabad: Three-year-old cries tears of blood
Doctors suspect rare disease but can't confirm it
Hyderabad: Uncontrolled bleeding from the eyes, mouth, ears and other body parts of three-year-old Ahana Begum from Falaknuma in the city has left doctors baffled. Ahana, who is three years and seven months old, is suspected to be suffering from a rare condition of sweating blood called hematodrosis, but this has not been confirmed by doctors. Her parents, Mr Mohammed Afzal and Ms Nazima Begum, have been moving from one hospital to another to find a cure for little Ahana.
Dr Sirisha Rani of Rainbow Children’s Hospital in her letter about Ahana’s condition said, “Ahana Begum is suspected to be having hematodrosis. She is suffering from a problem where she is bleeding from the nose, mouth, eyes and private area along with intermittent hypertension. She has been exhaustively evaluated but no definite cause was found. She requires multiple transfusions and recurrent admissions.”
She said the family had spent around Rs 1.5 lakh on Ahana’s treatment so far. “She would need further investigation if the problem continues,” Dr Sirisha Rani wrote. Mr Afzal, a gym trainer, has a son and Ahana is his younger daughter. “For the first 18 months the girl was okay. She started bleeding about 20 months ago. The bleeding occurs for seconds, sometimes minutes, and stops by itself. Sometimes she bleeds twice or thrice in a day, sometimes five times a week,” he said.
He said he had taken Ahana to Apollo, Little Star, Kamineni, Owaisi and finally to Rainbow Hospital. “I took her to hospitals in Mumbai and Bengaluru. I took her to CMC Vellore. No one could diagnose the disease. They all suspected it was hematdrosis. I went to Deputy Chief Minister Mahmood Ali for help. I was told that unless the disease is diagnosed they can’t help me.” On July 3, Ahana was taken again to Rainbow Hospital as an outpatient. “She becomes unconscious or semi-conscious. Sometimes she develops fits. I was told she can be treated at a charity hospital in the UK that is funded by the British royal family,” Mr Afzal said.
Ms Nazima Begum said, “I have no answer when Ahana asks me why she bleeds. We are depressed as the doctors says she may be having a rare disease.” A fundraiser website, Milaap, which has put out an appeal for funds to treat Ahana, has collected '86,000 for her treatment. “When you see this three plus years cutie bleed from different body parts, you can't stop crying,” it said on the website. Her poor parents have tried many hospitals in the hope of seeing their daughter live a normal life again. Her father is heavily in debt and is unable to continue the treatment, it said.