‘She’s just a child who can’t express her pain’

[gallery size="medium" td_select_gallery_slide="slide" td_gallery_title_input="‘She’s just a child who can’t express her pain’" ids="113993,113994,113995"] SAUDI nurse Abeer Attalah Al-Anzi who donated part of her liver to Bashayir Al-Rashidi, a toddler she had never met before and was suffering from cirrhosis of the liver since birth, made media headlines early this month. The liver transplant took place on Dec. 28, 2016. Anzi, who is in her 20s, is not related to Bashayir. When she learned through Twitter that Bashayir, who was at Prince Sultan Medical City in Riyadh, needed a donor, she responded to the appeal and communicated with the family. Once Anzi confirmed the details of Bashayir’s health issues, she decided to donate part of her liver to the young girl. Al-Arabiya.net has now met Anzi, who explained that what motivated her to decide to give away part of her liver, was the photo of the child. “Bashayir’s photo struck me; I empathized with her. She was just a child who cannot express the pain she was feeling,” Anzi said, adding at that very moment “I made up my mind, and without any hesitation contacted her father to inform him of my decision. That was four weeks ago.” “The donation coordinator in Fahd Al-Ahmari Hospital briefed me points from the donation manual prior to the surgery,” she said. “But being a nurse I have a general idea about medical transplants. The surgeons also thoroughly explained to me all the aspects of the surgery, which added to my resolve.” Umrah trip “My mother blessed my decision, and my brother welcomed it. My mom accompanied me for Umrah before I headed to Riyadh to do the medical tests, then back to my city Al-Jouf,” Anzi said, detailing her shuttling trips to undergo the prerequisite medical tests ahead of the surgery. “Then I traveled back to Riyadh for more examinations involving CT scan this time, and my third and final trip was to undergo the surgery,” she said. “I was hospitalized for a week. I have been to see Bashayir after her discharge from the Intensive Care Unit, prior to my return home,” she continued. The donor stressed that her plucky, humane gesture was meant neither to pull in media spotlight nor to be officially recognized and awarded. However, Anzi said she was stunned by the care she received from government officials, including Minister of Health Tawfiq Al-Rabiah, besides an award ceremony held by the hospital management. Rabiah had praised Anzi as “the finest example of humanitarian work in saving the life of a child.” “I was bargaining for nothing in return of my little grant, except God’s compassion,” she affirmed. A paradigm of generosity Bashayir’s father Nafee Al-Rashidi explained to Al-Arabiya.net the moment he received the donor’s first contact: “She was particularly tenacious, her equanimity and steadfast tone were authentic. So I rushed to break the good news to Bashayir’s mother.” He commended Anzi’s philanthropy: “She had to fly quite a few times to Riyadh, and even had to travel by car. Nevertheless, she absolutely declined my offer to reimburse the expenses… she is dauntless, a paradigm of generosity.” Pride of family Sultan, Anzi’s brother, applauded his sister in a phone interview, saying: “She is my younger sister, the pride of our family. Her demeanor demonstrates how we have been nurtured and raised to be generous and kind by our cherished mother.” — Al-Arabiya English