Four-year-old in Dubai beats coronavirus just months after surviving cancer

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Dubai: A four-year-old Indian girl in Dubai has become one of the youngest people in the UAE to have recovered from coronavirus after walking free from hospital last week.

The girl, known only as Sivani, was given a fitting send off by medical staff at Al Futtaim Health Hub on April 20, 20 days after being admitted on April 1.

Sivani contracted the virus from her mother – a front line health worker – who fell ill in March. Both Sivani and her dad were also tested despite not having any symptoms and, unlike her father, Sivani was found to be positive. The girl and her mother were kept in the same facility, but concern was greater for the little girl who had also fought off a rare type of kidney cancer last year called ganglioneuroblastoma.

Being a cancer survivor, doctors made extra precautions.

“Sivani had undergone chemotherapy sessions only last year and hence her immune system was still weak,” said Dr Tholfkar Al Baaj, group medical director at Al Futtaim Health Hub and the consultant in family medicine who treated Sivani.

Dr Tholkar Al Baaj
Image Credit: Supplied

“The doctors were concerned as she was at higher risk of developing a severe form of the disease and therefore, we had put her under close monitoring. Fortunately, she did not develop any complications from the infection,” he added.

Sivani remained under treatment for 20 days before two consecutive negative swab tests rendered her all clear. She will now undergo 14-days quarantine at home.

Sivani’s mother is also over her symptoms but remains under observation and is expected to be released soon to be reunited with her daughter.

The little girl was given a gift by the hospital for being such a brave patient.

Dr Haidar Al Yousef, Managing Director of Al-Futtaim Health, said: “We took every precaution to ensure Sivani and her mother were kept as close as possible to avoid Sivani feeling any kind of distress. In Sivani’s case, we continued monitoring her and only treating when necessary as per DHA protocols. Sivani had made a full recovery from her surgery last year and when we examined her, there was no indication that COVID-19 had any impact on her kidneys. We salute all front-line health workers and it is an honour to take care of them and their families.”

Sivani is believed to be one of the youngest coronavirus recoveries in the UAE. Others were a seven-year-old Syrian girl and a nine-year-old Filipino boy both in Abu Dhabi.