A STRANDED Filipino who lay in hospital for six months after suffering a stroke, was readmitted yesterday, just a week after being discharged.
Eduardo Waje Ramos had been moved to the Philippine Overseas Labour Office (Polo), where he was still under observation as an outpatient, while officials worked out how to get him home.
Volunteers were rallying around to raise money for an air ticket, while Philippines Embassy officials worked on the legalities, since the 56-year-old has no documents.
But he was taken ill again with high blood pressure last night and readmitted to Salmaniya Medical Complex, said Polo case officer Harry Borras.
He said an ambulance was called after Mr Ramos collapsed at around 4pm and he was expected to be in hospital for several days.
Mr Ramos lay in a coma for 14 weeks after being admitted to the SMC on March 27.
“As Mr Ramos has no family or house to live in, our representatives brought him to Polo after doctors said he had recovered and was ready to be discharged,” Mr Borras told the GDN yesterday.
“We are in the process of completing legal documents to repatriate him to the Philippines.”
A male nurse agreed to accompany Mr Ramos to the Philippines, after his plight was highlighted in the GDN in July.
Social workers earlier said Mr Ramos was able to give his home address in the Philippines, but refused to give his wife’s number, saying they were estranged.
“We were unable to get any information about his family, as he refused and said he has no-one in his family,” said Mr Borras.
“So the alternative is to buy a ticket and repatriate him to our Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) office in Manila.
“We are already in touch with the OWWA officials and provided them the details of Mr Ramos. We are just waiting for him to completely recover.”
The free-visa worker had worked as a freelance interior designer/ decorator for various companies.
The GDN reported on April 29 that embassy officials were hoping to trace his relatives in the Philippines and had forwarded his details to immigration staff, in an effort to track down his employer.
A friend admitted Mr Ramos to the hospital on a temporary CPR number, according to hospital sources.
Friends were trying to get him home, but he claimed he was too confused to give them any information about his family.
A friend of Mr Ramos, Anthony Tootsia, earlier told the GDN that he only knew that Mr Ramos had been living in Bahrain for 10 years and worked as an artist and interior designer.
The Hospital Ministry of the Loving God – a volunteer group that visits hospital patients – has been spearheading Mr Ramos’s case.
Source: Gulf Asia News
Loading ...