Mumbai: Egyptian national Eman Ahmed, 36, who was once the heaviest woman in the world, passed away around 4.35 am on Monday at the Burjeel Hospital in Abu Dhabi. Ms Ahmed died due to co-morbid conditions, including heart disease and kidney dysfunction.
Ms Ahmed, who suffered from a rare thyroid condition, weighed around 504kg before she was brought to Mumbai’s Saifee Hospital on February 11.
Thereafter, she shed around 300 kg due to surgery and a special protein diet before shifting to Burjeel Hospital on May 4, after spending three months in Mumbai.
Ms Ahmed was transferred to the Abu Dhabi hospital after an ugly spat broke out between her sister, Shaimaa Selim — who her recovery to be speedier, and the Saifee doctors.
According to doctors who were treating Ms Ahmed at Burjeel Hospital, she had shown signs of improvement. The hospital released a statement that read, “She had been under the supervision of a medical team of over 20 doctors from different specialities who were managing her medical condition from the time she arrived in the UAE.”
Ms Selim said, “Whatever happened was the decision of God and I pray for my sister.” Asked what had happened after Ms Ahmed was shifted to Abu Dhabi, Ms Selim said, “ I just want to say that Eman’s health improved in Burjeel Hospital, I want to thank Dr Shamsheer Vayalil for everything.”
Confined to her bed for 25 years, Ms Ahmed could not receive the necessary medical aid for her condition in her home country. Ms Selim had started a social media campaign to seek help for her sister, but when she was refused a visa to India for treatment, bariatric surgeon Dr Muffazal Lakdawala stepped in.
He tweeted to external affairs Sushma Swaraj to help Ms Ahmed. Ahmed was then lifted out of her bed by a crane and placed in an Egypt Air cargo plane. After a seven-hour-long flight, she was placed in a mini-truck at airport here and transported to Saifee Hospital.
