HOT OFF THE PRESS!! Ladies! “Food From The Heart” , the recipe collection initiative in aid of Ilhaam and LuqmaanDawood is now available! Your efforts will be rewarded by Allah , Insha Allah! Purchase your copy now! Only R100! Every cent in sales is directed towards their stem cell treatment which costs a staggering R700 000. Contact Zaheera 084 548 5841 or Zaheera Badat.
For bulk orders please contact Zaheera
* Please note additional R20 will be charged for postage
* Delivery can take between 7-14 days

Click here to buy  recipe book online

Target: R700 000

Ilhaam (5) and Luqmaan Dawood (2) are  two brain injured children. They have varying degrees of brain injury and undergo extensive and intensive rehabilitative therapy.

Ilhaam & Luqmaan’s medical history has been evaluated by a specialist neurological hospital in China who is advanced in stem cell treatment. Their opinion is that both children qualify for stem cells therapy and could be assisted with the treatment.

The door has been opened and the parents of  Ilhaam and Luqmaan would love to leap through for their chance and hope in life. The hope for a better quality life for their children.

Letter from mother Wahida Dawood

As I take pen to paper, I doubt I could ever capture in full the story I’d like to share. It’s been a journey of pain, agony, tears joy, hope, faith and so much more.

Each person has his own path in life, with different tests from Allah (SWT…), and with each test He gives you, you either come closer to Him or you go further away…

I start in the name of the Almighty, my Lord and my only Constant, the only One I can turn to completely in my happiness and trials in life.

I am a mother of two brain injured children. My daughter Ilhaam, my precious princess, is 5 years old. Due to a difficult labour and a lack of oxygen, she was born brain injured. Upto 17 months, she was functionally paralyzed and had only 23% brain function. A cousin of mine told me about Glenn Doman and the ‘Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential’ in Philadelphia. I bought his books and attended his course on “What to Do About Your Brain Injured Child” in Singapore. Thereafter my husband and I attended his child brain development lectures so that we could do therapy and stimulation with Ilhaam daily at home.

With everyone’s duaas and many, many hours of therapy at home, Alhamdulillah, Ilhaam started crawling by age 2, and walking by age3.

We took her to the Institutes in Italy and America for neurological evaluations and her brain injury changed from profound, which is one degree below a coma, to moderate brain injury. Ilhaam’s home therapy was intensive, targeting stimulation of the 6 areas of the brain: Vision, Auditory, tactile, Mobility, Language, and Manual competence. We also did an oxygen enrichment program which was done every 7 minutes for one minute at a time, upto 20 times a day. Life was on a timer.

Her improvement in mobility alone was a miracle straight from Allah.

When Ilhaam was 3, I gave birth premature to my son Luqmaan who was delivered via emergency caesarian because my placenta stopped functioning. His birth weight was 1.68kg’s and he was taken to neonatal I.C.U. Though tiny, he breathed and fed on his own.

As Allah would have it, the same day I had the caesarian I was rushed into theatre again as I was bleeding excessively. Doctors tried to stop it for two hours but to no avail. An emergency hysterectomy was done to save my life. So at 27 I lost my womb… but I was happy to have two children of my own.

Luqmaan had 3 operations in his first 8weeks(inguinal hernias) In between when he was 3weeks and still under 2kg’s, Ilhaam pulled him off the bed and he fell and hurt his head. He had a haematoma. Fortunately the bleeding was above the skull and not internal in the brain. Luqmaan developed normally upto 4 months but had extremely severe colic and cried day and night. His oesophagus was found to be enlarged. After his 4 month vaccination he became very sick and was hospitalized with severe gastro infection. After that he was never the same again. From good head control and rolling over at two months, he became spastic and hyper sensitive. At 6 months he was taken to theatre as his eye pressure was a concern. At 7 months he was in theatre again to check his ears as his ear canals were very tiny. At 12 months he had his 4th operation. At this point we did a brain scan and it picked up some abnormalities.

I was completely shattered. The day he was born I rejoiced because I thought Ilhaam had a brother to look after her in years to come. But truly, who is the Caretaker of mankind, if not Allah?…

Ilhaam had so much of attention and therapy before Luqmaan was born, and then was sorely neglected once Luqmaan arrived. Even though I had so much of experience with stimulation and therapy, it counted for nothing because Luqmaan kept me up through the night and I had no energy to face the day.

Luqmaan is 2 now and has spastic cerebral palsy. He is immobile.

It was a challenging experience coming to terms with and coping with one brain injured child, but then it became indescribable with two… As a mother my heart bleeds for my children. I’ve shed rivers of tears in hospitals and in prayer. I really don’t know where I’d be if it wasn’t for my faith in Allah and the support of family and friends.

The stress of my children’s neurological problems have affected my well being. At times my body would shut down for lack of coping skills. My memory has been severely affected because of lack of sleep for two years.

Through Allah’s infinite mercy my parents moved close to me. I have their help and support, together with my husband’s parents. I can’t thank them enough for always being there in our times of need.

Three months ago I started therapy with my son, tired or not. Alhamdulillah he can now roll over and is responding to stimulation. He has very weak stomach muscles and is dependent on a laxative daily. He still has colic and sleepless nights. He is responding to stimulation and is starting to learn.

Ilhaam cannot talk and has poor manual function. She attends a normal play school with my helper. Her teachers are absolutely amazing and have lots of love and patience for her.

Our search for wellness is five years running and I know this: I have two hands to ask of Allah, and I will never give up hope for my children getting better each day. We are planning to take them for stem cells therapy in China soon Inshallah. Stem cells is still in research phase and in its infancy in most countries, including South Africa. It is used for a vast number of sicknesses and diseases, including sugar diabetes, liver, kidney and eye problems. In neurological cases the stem cells are injected into the spine via lumbar puncture. The stem cells find the damaged areas in the brain and regenerates those areas. So it helps to improve brain function for a chance of a better quality life.

Ilhaam and Luqmaan are my two prized treasures. My husband is made of solid gold as he is the best father in the world, and their love for him can attest to that. For every tear I’ve shed, I’ve had a million joys from my experience and bond as a mother to them. I thank Allah for blessing me with them, and I wish for everyone reading this to remember them in your special duaas, for they ARE special, just like every other brain injured child trapped in their bodies.

Ilhaam Dawood (5 years old)                       Luqmaan Dawood (2 years old)

ILHAAM DAWOOD

She was functionally paralysed up to the age of 17 months. Her brain injury was considered profound (one level below a coma) and she had 23% brain function. With intensive therapy at home daily, which included physical therapy, intellectual stimulation and an oxygen enrichment program, she made dramatic improvement. She learnt to crawl by age 2 and started walking at age 3.

Ilhaam is now 5 years old and her condition/clinical diagnosis has changed from cerebral palsy to delayed development since she is now mobile. She tries to communicate by pointing. Currently she has no speech and has a very poor ability to use her hands and is therefore dependent for even basic care as she cannot feed or change herself. She needs supervision at all times.

Ilhaam is hyposensitive (below normal ability) to touch but hypersensitivity to hearing. Her body does not regulate its temperature well and is thus very susceptible to febrile convulsions (seizures) when she has a fever due to illness.

LUQMAAN DAWOOD

Luqmaan is diagnosed as having spastic cerebral palsy. He has had four operations since birth and a lot of internal problems related to his gastro-intestinal tract which kept him crying day and night. Luqmaan currently undergoes therapy daily which is very similar program to that of Ilhaam. At this stage, he cannot sit, crawl or walk.

He has no speech. He is hypersensitive and does not like being touched. His stomach muscles are very weak and he is dependent on a laxative daily as he cannot relieve himself.

This little boy is only 2 years old but has been through many hospitalisations. He is trapped in his body because of his brain injury.

Ilhaam and Luqmaan are completely dependent on us by day and even through the night need special care. They are sick often.

STEM CELLS THERAPY

We are considering Stem Cells Therapy for them in which umbilical cord stem cells will be injected into their spine via lumbar puncture. The stem cells go into the brain and find the damaged areas and regenerate those areas of the brain.

The stem cells that will be used are not embryonic stem cells from foetuses which are cultured to harvest the stem cells. The stem cells that will be used are those that are collected from discarded umbilical cords and placentas after child birth.

Ilhaam & Luqmaan’s medical history has been evaluated by a specialist neurological hospital in China who is advanced in stem cell treatment. Their opinion is that both children qualify for stem cells therapy and could be assisted with the treatment.

The door has been opened and we would love to leap through for their chance and hope in life. The hope for a better quality life for our children cannot be put into words. The search for their pathway to wellness is our main priority.

The cost of the Stem Cell treatment is $35’000 per child for 8 injections over a 6 week period. Even though we have comprehensive medical cover with Discovery Health, they are not willing to pay for this treatment. After considering the cost of the treatment for both of our children, travel and accommodation over the six weeks, an estimated amount of R700’000 is required.

If anyone wishes to assist us in any way, financial or by means of spreading this email, as well as contributing fundraising ideas, we would sincerely appreciate it.

Bank Account Details:

Bank: ABSA

Account Holder: Ilhaam Dawood

Account number: 918 9977 197

Branch Code : 632005

to ensure the parents receive any donations please send an sms to either parent to confirm receipt.

Contact Details of Parents:

Wahida Dawood: 082 334 6465

Mohamed Zubair Dawood: 082 904 9103

May the Almighty reward you for your time and contributions, be they financial, in prayer, or otherwise…

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