A 42-year-old Filipino woman in the United Arab Emirates fell into comatose after working out at a gym in Abu Dhabi, Gulf News reported on Friday.
The report said Elvira Cadiz Malveda collapsed in the bathroom gym and was rushed to the Shaikh Medical City in January this year.
Malveda was diagnosed with brain hemorrhage after being transferred to another hospital.
The report said the Filipino, who had been paralyzed since the incident, was being fed using a tube.
Malveda’s sister Marilyn Pascual told Gulf News that doctors advised the family to bring the patient home for long-term care.
“She worked as a saleswoman and was very active and healthy. Now she responds to her surroundings only by blinking her eyes. It breaks my heart to see her in this condition,” Pascual said.
But Pascual, who has a child with special needs and a husband on life support, says she has no idea where to take her sister and where to get money for her care.
“Most of what I earn is spent on the treatment of my husband and daughter. But I cannot abandon my sister who is single and has nobody to depend on,” Pascual said.
“I don’t know how much her long-term treatment will cost. I will have to find a rehabilitation center for her either in Abu Dhabi or back in the Philippines. I am counting on the generosity of the people of this country to help me and my family in this dire situation,” she added.