World's heaviest woman's treatment to take up to a year

Eman being transported to the hospital in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi - Extensive arrangements and custom-made facilities awaited Eman at Abu Dhabi's Burjeel Hospital.

Once known as the "world's heaviest woman", Eman Abdul Atti's treatment could take up to a year, according to medical experts.
The Egyptian woman arrived safe in Abu Dhabi to begin her treatment at the UAE's Burjeel Hospital on Thursday night. She was discharged after an 83-day stay at Saifee Hospital in Mumbai, India.
To facilitate Eman's departure from India, Mumbai Police created a 12-kilometre corridor - normally done when organs need to be transplanted - from Saifee Hospital to Charni Road to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, where she was seen off by a bariatric surgeon, Muffadal Lakdawala, and Maharashtra health minister Deepak Sawant.
A day prior to her arrival,  PTI reported that Huzefa Shehabi, chief operating officer of  Saifee Hospital, received an e-mail communication from Burjeel Hospital, saying that Eman was "stable, in good health and fit to fly".
Infographic: Eman's journey from Mumbai to Abu Dhabi
The aircraft - an Egypt Air cargo flight into which she was hoisted on board - was originally scheduled to depart at 4.50pm Mumbai time, but was delayed until 6.50pm. "We are very thankful to the people of India and the doctors who treated Eman," her sister Shaimaa was quoted as saying by PTI. "I respect all the countrymen here and the doctors."
Extensive arrangements and custom-made facilities awaited Eman at Burjeel.
Khaleej Times got exclusive access to her room number 528 at Burjeel Hospital on Thursday, where Eman will be treated.
The spacious and airy room on the fifth floor, with a helper's bed, sofa and an attached nurse's room, will be Eman' new home in the UAE for the coming months.
Dr Raja Gujju, CEO of Burjeel Hospital who offered Khaleej Times a tour of the room, said the doors of the room on the fifth floor were widened to 150 cms.
"This is to facilitate easy movement so that the heavy patient can be wheeled in and out without difficulties.
"A normal room's doors are 130cm wide."
The room also has a tailor-made toilet that can bear the patient's weight. "She is confined to the bed now. But after considerable weight loss and when she becomes mobile, our intention is to train her to use the toilet," said the CEO.
Burjeel Hospital also has arranged a special ICU room for Eman with facilities for multi-disciplinary treatment. Eman will be admitted to the ICU first before she is moved to her room.
Celin Verma, head of nursing at Burjeel, said the medical panel fitted in the ICU has all facilities to treat any medical complications.
"The special ICU will ensure that she is isolated from other patients."
"Three nurses will be attending to her round the clock in two different shifts. There is a monitoring system in the nurse's room attached to her, in addition to the central monitoring of the ICU," said Verma.
Eman's journey, so far...
In October 2016, Eman was declared the world's heaviest woman, weighing about 500 kilograms. For the preceding 25 years, she didn't leave her home in the Egyptian port city of Alexandria.
In December, Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj offered to help her, and she arrived for treatment in Mumbai on February 22, 2017 to undergo bariatric surgery after suffering from a stroke, which left her bedridden.
She is unable to speak properly and is partially paralysed. "She can understand some commands, but is unable to complete sentences or speak words that people can understand," Sanet Mayer, head of Burjeel's Medevac unit, explained to Khaleej Times. Additionally, she was put on a liquid diet to reduce her weight
According to doctors who treated her in India, she has since shed 323 kilograms, and now weights about 176 kilograms. Her sister, however, disputes the claim.
A team of 15 doctors were involved in her complicated transport and arrival in Abu Dhabi, where she will go through various medical assessments to determine her condition and verify her current weight. A specialised room has been set up for her, equipped with a bariatric bed that prevents bed sores for long-term patients.
Journey to weight loss
504kg-Her weight on February 11 when she was airlifted to Saifee Hospital, Mumbai, from Alexandria in Egypt
404kg-Her weight on March 7, according to doctors treating her
75 per cent of her stomach reduced by bariatric surgery
358kg-On March 18, doctors claim her weight had dropped further
334kg-Total weight loss after treatment
170kg-Her weight before flight to Abu Dhabi on Thursday
Alexandria to Mumbai and Abu Dhabi
February 11: Eman flown from Alexandria to Mumbai in a specially created 'box bed' crafted by artisans. EgyptAir freighter Airbus300-600 flies her to Mumbai. She is brought to the Saifee hospital in an open-to-sky truck
February 16: She thanks doctors and the governments of India and Egypt for their help in a video message
March: During her 82-day hospital stay, she undergoes surgery and is put on a special diet which brings down her weight to 170kg
April 24: Her sister Shaimaa Salim calls surgeon Dr Muffazal Lakdawala and the hospital 'liars'. Claims Eman was under "heavy medication'
April 26: Doctors share video to prove she is healthy, dismiss claims her health is deteriorating
May 4: The 36-year-old transported in EgyptAir cargo Airbus300-600 to Abu Dhabi. Special hydraulic stretcher imported from Italy for trip
What it takes to transport and treat Eman in Mumbai & Abu Dhabi
9 specialists including an intensivist, paramedics and nurses accompany Eman to Abu Dhabi
20 medical experts on board to discuss medication and diet during next phase of treatment in the UAE
5 folders containing 10,000 medical records given to experts from VPS Healthcare in Abu Dhabi
1 year- The course of her treatment
Rs30m bill for her treatment in India, paid by donations
Dh55,000- Paid by an Indian actor's mother who did not wish to be named
anjana@khaleejtimes,com 
reporters@khaleejtimes.com

Track Eman Abdul Atti's journey from India to Abu Dhabi below: 

 

Khaleej Times got exclusive access to her room number 528 at Burjeel Hospital on Thursday, where Eman will be treated.

• Abu Dhabi