Electrocuted child wakes up after 7-month coma

An eight-year-old Saudi boy who had suffered a severe electric shock while trying to drink from a tank woke up from a seven-month coma to find himself totally paralysed, a newspaper said on Tuesday.

Ahmed grabbed the water tank next to a mosque in the eastern town of Jubail and dangled his head into it to quench his thirst, apparently not aware of the cut power cable that was dipped into the water surrounding the tank, the online daily 'Alikhbariya' said.

Once he had a drink and climbed down, he stepped with his bare feet into the water on the ground and fainted instantly.

“Ahmed was electrocuted and immediately collapsed…he was taken to hospital but he was not treated properly because of the lack of the necessary medical equipment,” the paper said.

“He remained in a coma for nearly seven months, during which he was moved from one hospital to another…this week, he woke up to find his limbs completely paralysed.”

The paper quoted the boy’s father as saying doctors told him his son needs to be taken abroad for treatment. But he added that he could not afford it as doctors said his treatment would be very costly.

“I urge officials and all benevolent people to help me treat my son…his only hope is to travel abroad for treatment but I cannot afford the expenses,” he said.

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