Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Saturday, Aug 23, 2025

Terminally-ill Emirati patient has her wish fulfilled, visits Dubai beach on a stretcher

Terminally-ill Emirati patient has her wish fulfilled, visits Dubai beach on a stretcher

Five years after she actually had a proper sun-and-sand experience at the beach, Fatma Zaal Zaal Al Khamis was actually able to savour the briny air and hear the calming lap of waves at 7am on Wednesday morning at the Jumeirah Beach here from a hospital stretcher.

Tethered safely to the stretcher and assisted by a team of nurses, paramedics and doctors of Prime Hospital, Al Khamis was wheeled as close to the waves as possible as she silently watched the beautiful sunrise and listened to the waves -- her masked face looking blissful, her tired eyes squinting in the sunlight.

She whispered Jazzakahllah (may God bless you) to the doctor and the nurses. Her voice, hoarse due to the number of tubes fixed to assist her, sounded happy and calm.

It might have been the last time the 72-year-old terminally-ill widow visited the beach. Her body ravaged by a bunch of co-morbidities including diabetes, stroke and hypertension, had already become very frail.


Only this year, the doctors at Prime Hospital discovered that she had cervical cancer that had metastasised into various other organs.

Dr Dirar Abdallah, Consultant Internal Medicine and Chair of Medicine at Prime Hospital, who accompanied the patient in the ambulance to the beach told Gulf News: “Fatma is like family to us now. For the last two years, she has been in and out of the hospital several times.

She had diabetes and hypertension, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, then she suffered a stroke and was treated.

"Six weeks ago, when she was admitted to the ICU, we discovered that she also had stage four cervical cancer which had metastasised in her abdomen. We have carried out some palliative care surgeries to make her comfortable and are giving her palliative medicines to keep her pain free. There is not much we can do.

For many years, Fatma has been confined to the bed and has been unable to go out and experience the outdoors. She has been really desiring to feel the beach air on the face and hear the waves.

Since her distant relative his her caregiver, we at the hospital have become her extended family and decided to do our best to give her this happiness.”


Dr Dirar Abdallah, Consultant Internal Medicine and Chair of Medicine at Prime Hospital, accompanied the patient in the ambulance to the beach.


Marianne Siritanu, director of Nursing at Prime Hospital, who accompanied the patient, told Gulf News: “This is the first time we decided to fulfil the wish of a terminally-ill patient.

The staff members at the ICU are emotionally attached to Fatma and since she requested many times to visit the beach, we decided to make it possible for her.

I got together with the ICU nurse, the home-care nurse, the ambulance paramedics, Dr Abdallah and myself along with the ambulance driver and made sure we had everything in the ambulance to help the patient.

We carried all the medicines, oxygen etc along with the staff who could intervene in case of any emergency for this trip.


It was a 20-minute stay at the beach that took days to plan.


"It was only a 20-minute stay at the beach, but it took us days to plan and make it possible. We are so happy we were able to give so much happiness to Fatma. She blessed all of us.”

Dr. Dirar Abdullah of Prime Hospital having a conversation with Fatima Zaal, 72 years old, a cancer patient, during her visit to Jumairah Beach in Dubai.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
×