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Video: Mum appeals to UAE leaders to save baby's life

Dubai - Aisha Hassan Ibrahim, a 16-month-old girl, suffers from the same disease as Iraqi baby Laveen, whose treatment was funded by Sheikh Mohammed earlier this month.

A second desperate mother, whose baby girl suffers from a life-threatening condition, has taken to social media with an appeal to the UAE's leaders to help save her daughter's life.

The video, posted by UAE resident Mariam Ali, comes after His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, stepped in to cover the exorbitant cost of treatment for Laveen, an Iraqi baby girl, earlier this month.

Aisha Hassan Ibrahim, a 16-month-old girl, suffers from the same disease as Laveen — spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) — but her condition is a bit more serious. The child is currently in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a hospital in Dubai.

In a video posted by her mother earlier this week, Aisha can be seen sleeping in the ICU, with tubes inside her nose to help her breathe.

Speaking to Khaleej Times, Mariam said that the disease has already progressed to affecting Aisha’s breathing and swallowing muscles, making her incapable of eating or breathing normally.

“Right now, my daughter is still breathing with help from the medical team, but she is not yet on a ventilator," she said. "The medical team has said that if Aisha gets onto a ventilator, she won’t be able to take the medicine that could save her life.”

The cure for the rare genetic disease Aisha suffers from costs more than Dh8 million, which is unaffordable for the Syrian family that is seeking the help from the “generous rulers of the UAE”.

In the video, the mother asked for help from The President, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan; His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum; and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

A resident of Ajman, Mariam expressed her gratitude to Allah for being able to live in the UAE — “the country of goodness”. Although her daughter needed to take the life-saving therapy urgently, she added she was "thankful to Allah for everything".

Aisha has been receiving treatment for her condition at her home. However, on March 4, she had to be taken to the hospital after displaying serious symptoms. Upon their arrival at the hospital, the medical team took the child directly to the ICU.

Zolgensma, the treatment that Aisha needs, is a gene therapy medication used to treat spinal muscular atrophy.