Cii Radio| Ayesha Ismail| 13 December 2017| 24 Rabi ul Awal 1439
The world lost a fighter yesterday, someone that has left a footprint in the hearts of many.
Humayrah Bodania was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension 3 years ago when she was just 4 years old. PH is an illness for which there is no cure and Humayrah battled this illness for 3 years.
The little eight-year-old girl was en route to India, along with her parents, to receive treatment when she was called back to Allah Ta’ala.
En route the little angel became unstable. The flight was then diverted to Nairobi for an emergency landing.
Reports indicate that the doctors managed to stabilise her, however, the time and place was written for little Humayrah.
In June this year the international fashion brand, Zara’s no-trolley policy came under fire when employees at their Cresta Shopping Mall branch refused to make an exception to their rule to accommodate Humayrah who had her oxygen tank in a trolley.
Humayrah was not allowed to enter the store because she was seated in a trolley. Humayrah usually used a mobility scooter as she was unable to walk long distances without getting out of breath, however on that day Humayrah sat in the trolley with her oxygen tank while the family shopped.
Humayrah was the face of PH KIDS SA, a campaign aimed at creating awareness about the illness. She touched many lives and leaves a huge void in the lives of her family, friends and many globally. Humayrah will be buried at West Park Cemetry on Wednesday.
May Allah grant little Humayrah jannatul Firdaus and grant her family sabrun jameel during this difficult time and envelope them in his mercy and protection always. Ameen
So what is PH?
It means that you have high blood pressure in the arteries between your heart and your lungs. With PH, the tiny arteries in your lungs become narrow or blocked. It’s harder for blood to flow through them, and that raises the blood pressure in your lungs. Your heart has to work harder to pump blood through those arteries, and after a while the heart muscle gets weak. Eventually, it can lead to heart failure.
Sometimes there is no cause for the PH and this is called idiopathic PH. Other times there could be an underlying disease or defect that you may not have known about that causes it.
Symptoms
Symptoms range from shortness of breath to fevers, dizzy spells, fatigue and swelling in your ankles or legs. An echo test and run CT scans are sometimes required to check your arteries.
Treatment may include oxygen therapy, blood thinners and calcium channel blockers which help to lower the blood pressure in your lungs.
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