Battling blood cancer, this Dubai braveheart will work to stay alive... if they'll only let him

Thirty-two year old Afsar Zawar Khan worked for about seven years in the UAE as a heavy bus driver, picking up workers from their work site and dropping them home, but he cannot do this any longer.

His employer is not keen to risk the lives of about 60 labourers travelling with him because he has been diagnosed with acute myelocytic leukemia (AML).

Earning just Dh2,500 a month, Khan could not meet the huge medical expenses for treating this disease.

He has to take four ‘Glivex’ tablets, each costing Dh90, every day to prolong his life. His monthly expense on the tablets alone come to about Dh11,000.

Says Afsal Khan, who was shocked to learn of his deadly disease about seven months ago.

“When I was suffering from frequent fevers, severe body pain, fatigue and weight loss, my friends advised me to meet a doctor.

“My normal weight, which was about 90kg, came down to 68kg. Initially, I thought I was suffering from diabetes.

Doctors at Al Ahlia Al Noor Clinic and Khalifa Medical City in Abu Dhabi confirmed that I had blood cancer. I have a Daman medical insurance card, but it does not cover this ailment.”

He was working with Juma Khalfan Transport for the past one and a half years.

He said since doctors in Khalifa Medical City did not give him an appointment as there was a long queue and was told to wait for 15 days, he decided to go back to his family in Pakistan, where his father, two younger brothers, wife and five children live.

“I decided to go back to Pakistan because medical treatment is expensive here and my insurance did not cover the disease.

“If I died, I wanted to be near my parents, children and wife. Initially, I met a local physician in Pakistan who treated me for some time and charged me about Rs80,000.

“Then I was admitted to Aga Khan Hospital, Karachi. During the past six months, my treatment cost me nearly Rs1 million, but I got some concession due to my poor financial situation.

“I came back here with about 100 Glivex tablets with the help of a special certificate from Dr Salman Naseem Adil from the Department of Medicine, Aga Khan Hospital. 

“The doctor’s report said he was admitted with complaints of general weakness, abdominal pain and weight loss for six months. He was also found to have very high WBC (white blood count) and was discharged on October 10, 2011. His WBC came down to 82.2 (from 384.7) and was advised regular medication.

“Another Rs1 million is needed for continuing my medical treatment. I cannot think of it because I have already sold whatever assets I had – three vehicles that I purchased with my small savings in the UAE.

|My younger brother was driving a taxi but we had to sell it to raise money for my treatment. Two other vehicles and the family gold were also sold to raise money for my treatment.”

“We used to earn 9,000 rupees a month by renting and running taxis. I sold these vehicles and my brothers are also unemployed now.

“As my UAE visa was about to expire, I came back to the country last week because I wanted to approach my employer for help and see whether the insurance company would take care of my treatment,” said Khan, who is now living with a friend in an Al Quoz labour camp.

Mohammed Tahir, chief accountant of Juma Khalfan Transport LLC, said: “Afsar had been working with us for a couple of years and now he has come back from Pakistan after treatment. Daman insurance does not cover chronic diseases like blood cancer.

“We are trying to help him in whatever way we can. We have about 70 employees who were asked to donate Dh 50 to Dh 100 per month for his treatment. If all the employees donate, we will be able to raise Dh5,000 to Dh 6,000 per month, which is not enough to cover his medical expenses.”

As per the report of the Clinical Pathology Department of Al Noor Hospital, Abu Dhabi and Aga Khan Hospital, Karachi, Afsar Khan is chronically ill –suffering from AML and needs to take a one-year course of the costly ‘Glivex’ tablet, which he is unable to purchase with his limited resources and the paltry sums donated by his friends, relatives and colleagues at Juma Khalfan Transport.

“My aged father, children and wife were all crying when I said I am going back to the UAE. I decided to come back here because I have sold whatever I had and there is no money to continue my treatment, let alone taking care of my family.

My family asked me to stay back but I returned because I thought my employer, the insurance company or my friends will help me. I have brought about 100 Glivex tablets for the next couple of months.

“I am living with my former colleague Abdul Rahman, now a driver with Emirates Transport, in an Al Qouz camp where six people are sharing a room.

“When I have to go to Abu Dhabi to meet my boss or the insurance company, I get exhausted and frequently fall ill and sometimes vomit.

“My friends are taking care of me, but I don’t want to trouble them for long,” he said, adding that if the insurance company can cover his disease, he will be able to rest and continue medication for a year.

Sohaib Khan, a colleague at Juma Khalfan Transport, said: “I know him for the last one year. He worked with me in the Ruwais gas plant as a driver.

“I don’t know how he got this chronic disease. We used to share a room and at nights, he used to wake up and complain of severe pain.

“We are giving small amounts to help him, but it is like a drop in an ocean. When he was in Pakistan, we collected some money and sent it to him, but we are poor people and cannot raise the big amount needed for his treatment.”

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