The Daily Mail reported on November 28 that two months ago, 1-year-old girl Marwa was infected with a life-threatening virus.
Marwa’s parents took her to La Timone Hospital in Marseille, France. Her father, Mohamed Bouchenafa, said it was one of the best hospitals in Europe so he trusted the doctors’ decisions.
The Mirror named Mr. Lee Chester, 37 years old from England, the kindest father of the year after he decided to “share” one of his kidneys to save the life of his 3-year-old daughter.
To prevent further brain damage from the virus, doctors decided to put Marwa under anesthesia. Marwa was then connected to a life support machine to help maintain her breathing and heartbeat.
By November, doctors were giving up when Marwa failed to regain consciousness after two months of treatment. They believed her brain damage was so severe that she would never be able to function without life support, meaning she would never breathe or walk on her own.
Doctors asked to remove the life support machine to let her go. However, Mohamed Bouchenafa did not let that happen because he still had hope. He went to court to fight the doctors’ request.
Baby Marwa can even smile at her parents Photo: Facebook
Bouchenafa said that when he talked to his daughter, he felt like Marwa recognized his voice.
Confident that his daughter would recover, he wrote an online petition calling on the hospital to keep Marwa on life support. The petition reads: “Marwa gives us hope every day as her health improves…She just needs time. Please help us keep this little angel alive.”
Bouchenafa said La Timone Hospital was overwhelmed with patients in critical condition who needed intensive care. So, when doctors realized there was no hope of saving Marwa, they wanted to take her off life support and make room for someone else in the intensive care unit.
Bouchenafa’s petition received more than 114,000 signatures. With such overwhelming support, the court had no choice but to order La Timone Hospital to keep Marwa on life support for another two months.
Just 10 days after the court’s verdict, a miracle happened: Marwa regained consciousness. The moment Marwa opened her eyes was filmed by Bouchenafa and posted on Facebook. What’s even more gratifying is that her health continued to improve. Marwa was able to smile again.
“The baby will continue to receive treatment, but we see his health improving every day and this gives us great hope,” Mr. Bouchenafa said excitedly. “When I talk, he hears my voice and responds, sometimes he smiles.”
