(MENAFN- Arab Times) An indomitable resilience is ringing through Kuwaiti hospitals as victims of the terrorist bombing at Al Sadiq mosque and their families continue to display positive attitudes and unflinching solidarity. At Al Amiri Hospital, 137 patients were brought in as casualties on Friday of which four were operated, and two succumbed to injuries in the hospital.
The extent of injuries ranged from mostly minor casualties and a few major, typically entailing foreign body removals. While there were a few children admitted, the bulk of patients were made of adults and the elderly. Dr Saud Subaie described the situation at the hospital on Friday, "We were faced with mass injuries caused by the explosion. Doctors who were on call were asked to come in to cover all the casualties yesterday. We were fully equipped and in the best shape at the time when we received all the casualties."
As of Saturday, four patients were still in intensive care but were believed to be stable and would be shifted to the wards soon. Dr Subaie described the present situation at the hospital, "Actually everything is under control now.
We have blood reserved for all the patients, patients have been allocated to their rooms and they are being kept in one ward now. We are organising everything and we are happy with the system." He mentioned that more blood will be needed once patients go to the operating theatre for re-exploration and foreign body removal. He added that while the hospital was in good shape to deal with the situation, the Ministry of Health must organize more courses for doctors to deal with such emergency situations and there was more organisation needed with ambulances and primary care.
Former Kuwaiti MP Safa Al Hashem, who was visiting patients at the hospital, condemned the act of terrorism for being a cowardly attempt to rip apart the fabric of Kuwaiti society. "When people are in a holy place, offering prayers in a mosque and cowards like that terrorist think that he can tear up the weave of our society with his act of terrorism, he is greatly mistaken. We had Saddam Hussein try it 25 years ago and that never hurt our society." "This country is blessed with the power of faith, love, and unity that we have among each other. Yes, we may have conflicts and different opinions, that is a very normal thing € keep in mind, Kuwait is in the midst of a heated region and still we manage to contain that -as soon as a cowardly act like this happened, it showed the strength and health of the weave of our society", she continued. Al-Hashem attested to witnessing high morale in the hospital wards. "There are people with cheerful smiles on heavily scarred faces and heavy wounds on their bodies. We went in with the intention of encouraging them but they instead told us that this tragedy would not affect us as a people."
Rejection
She reiterated her rejection of a segregated society of Sunnis and Shias, underlining the fact that they were all Kuwaitis, united under the leadership of HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al- Sabah. Al Hashem who has been outspoken about the lack of services in the country and especially the health sector, told the Arab Times that this tragedy exposed lapses in regard to the facilities, capabilities and sense of awareness for the magnitude of the event. "I wanted to see more of crisis management in our hospitals which I haven't seen. I hope this is a wake-up call for our government", she remarked. One victims' wife relayed her husband's experiences as he lay in bed after having returned from a minor surgery, "[My husband] went to Friday prayer, he went a little late, but he prayed and during the last part of the prayer, he heard somebody yell 'There is no God but Allah' and then an explosion. Everything was ashy. My two sons had their eardrums burst and a piece of shrapnel flew into [my son] Ali's leg, which the doctors had to take out and stitch shut. There was flesh flying everywhere, glass shards everywhere. People were lying on the ground half-dead. The interior of the mosque was completely shattered. In the heat of the moment, all my husband could think of was to grab our children and run out." imparted Laila Abdulrazzak Al Abdulsalam. After receiving treatment for their sustained wounds, Al Abdulsalam's sons left the hospital.
However, her husband remains bed ridden, suffering with a broken neck and back, torn ligaments, and shrapnel scattered throughout his hands. "It's Ramadan, and people are fasting and praying. My sons had nothing to do with this. They are only 12 and 15, and now they're suffering the injuries. This is not right by anyone's standards. This is not Islam. There was also a 14 year old kid who died, and who's brother lost an arm." Al Abdulsalam said. Her shock over this act of terrorism is mirrored by many throughout the community who have been rocked by the experience. Al Abdulsalam's children are among many who will remember the attack for years to come. "After the explosion, the whole mosque was red, just like in the movies. My brother carried me and put me in a position to protect myself. Then my brother got shrapnel in his back because he was trying to protect me." recalled 9-year-old Ali Mohammed Al-Khawaja.
Although the harrowing near death incident has already become an ethereal memory to Ali, his spirits are high over the prospect of leaving the hospital to play video games within the coming days, as he plays Uno and is kept company by the scores of family, friends, and well-wishers of the community, flooding into the hospital to show solidarity and to comfort the patients. Meanwhile the young have successfully leveraged social media platforms to mobilise blood donors. The Central Blood bank has been flooded with voluntary donors since Friday. Sara Al Aiban, 23, came along with cousin to donate blood for the first time.
Explaining her motivations, she said, "I decided to donate blood today for the unity of my country. If I don't stand for my country now, then when? This is a simple way that I can show my compassion and support for my people." Officials from the Central Blood Bank assured that even though they currently have ample supply, they are not rejecting new donors. Negative blood types continue to be in demand.
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