Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA), the UAE’s largest healthcare network, highlights the remarkable rehabilitation of Afra Humaid Yousef Alblooshi, a young Emirati diagnosed with a rare genetic spinal disorder.

Afra was just three months old when she was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) type 1 – a genetic neuromuscular disorder that affects the nerve cells that control voluntary muscles. Without treatment, symptoms include worsening muscle weakness and poor muscle tone and may result in feeding and breathing problems.  

In April 2021, Afra became one of the first patients to receive a revolutionary gene therapy called Zolgensma, at SEHA’s Sheikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC). At the time she was referred to Salma Children’s Rehabilitation Hospital, in July 2021, Afra was unable to sit, play, swallow or breath independently. Her CHOP-intend score (the standardized assessment to score the functional level of SMA) was low at 26/64. Under the watchful eye and compassionate care of Salma’s multi-disciplinary team, Afra began to thrive.

Elaborating further on Afra’s journey, Dr. Ashraf Elbatal, clinical lead Specialist – Pediatric ICU at Salma Children’s Rehabilitation Hospital, said: “At Salma, we just want children to get better as soon as possible and live normal and healthy lives. With Afra, the team worked meticulously to design medical and therapeutic programs that would accelerate her recovery.”

“Afra’s physiotherapist worked on improving and monitoring her muscle power and head control; we had an occupational therapist who helped Afra in achieving daily activities like brushing teeth or eating on her own. Our speech and language pathologist tailored programs that focused on dysphagia (difficulty swallowing) training and applied VFFS (Video fluoroscopic swallow study) from play therapy to functional oral feeds. Afra was also looked after by a special needs educator who followed her developmental milestones daily and curated programs to encourage social interactions. And lastly, Salma’s respiratory therapist along with our consultant pediatricians gradually weaned her off the ventilator. She was given comprehensive care that has resulted in much improvement,” added Marjolein Oosterheert, Therapy Lead at Salma Children’s Rehabilitation Hospital.

Following the 360-degree rehabilitation at Salma, today Afra can breathe on her own, can sit without support, walk with the help of a walker, is enrolled in a regular school curriculum, has an optimal CHOP-intend score (64/64), and can communicate, swallow, and oral feed independently.

Afra’s mother, Aziza Alblooshi, said: “To see your child unable to even communicate is a challenging thing for any parent. We are so grateful to the entire team at SEHA, including SKMC and Salma Children’s Rehabilitation Hospital, who rallied behind our baby to ensure she becomes better and journey towards living a relatively normal life. Watching her today, fills my heart with joy and for these moments, I wholeheartedly thank everyone across the SEHA network.”

Speaking towards SEHA’s extensive network integration, Philipp Mielenz, Chief Executive Officer at Salma Rehabilitation Hospital, said: “One of the main advantages of being a part of UAE’s largest healthcare network is that we can provide integrated and coordinated services throughout the entire treatment stages in order to meet the comprehensive healthcare needs of our patients. Especially for children, SKMC and Salma work closely together and offer excellent quality of care. In Afra’s case, we are proud to have such an impact on a child’s life with our highly specialized and comprehensive rehabilitation at Salma Children’s Rehabilitation Hospital, after SKMC’s highly experienced teams administered this state-of-the-art treatment. Great collaboration is the key component that has resulted in a remarkable patient outcome here. At SEHA, we shall continue to strengthen our network integration and provide an even wider range of services to our patients.”

Salma Rehabilitation Hospital is part of the SEHA network and is the only rehabilitation and long-term care provider for the network. Salma provides a holistic and multi-disciplinary approach to healthcare services, working as a team to provide exceptional care and rehabilitative services to its patients.

The Hospital is accredited by JCI (Joint Commission International) and is poised to be accredited by CARF (Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities). Salma Rehabilitation Hospital serves patients in three different locations:

  • Salma Children’s Rehabilitation Hospital, a flagship facility.  It is the first premium holistic children's hospital in the emirate of Abu Dhabi (mainland) with 83 beds.
  • Salma Rehabilitation Hospital – SKMC provides personalized long-term care and rehabilitation services for adults within Sheikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC), with a 52-bed capacity.
  • Salma Rehabilitation Hospital – Al Ain offers comprehensive long-term care and rehabilitation services for adults and children alike and has a 36-bed capacity.

To find out more about Salma Rehabilitation Hospital’s services, book an appointment by calling 800 50 or visit SEHA.ae. You can also book an appointment through the SEHA Mobile app or WhatsApp us on 02-4102200.

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About SEHA:

The Abu Dhabi Health Services Company PJSC–SEHA – is an independent, public joint stock company created to develop the curative activities of the public healthcare system in Abu Dhabi. The company owns and operates all the public hospitals and clinics of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

SEHA is a PureHealth asset, the UAE's largest integrated healthcare platform.

SEHA is committed to continuous improvement of customer care to recognized international standards and providing the community with world-class healthcare. SEHA operates 14 hospitals with over 3,000 beds, 70 ambulatory care, family care and urgent care centers and 3 blood banks. Its facilities accommodate 117,162 inpatients annually and conduct 43,262 surgeries, as well as treating more than five million outpatients.

SEHA is one of the largest integrated healthcare providers in the Middle East with more than 14,000 doctors, nurses, ancillary care, and administrative personnel. Learn more at www.seha.ae