Becoming a police officer: Thalassaemic boy plays out dream role for a day

Faizan’s life-long wish to patrol the roads with fellow officials was fulfilled.

ISLAMABAD:

Mohammad Faizan did not have much going for him, but Wednesday saw his life-long dream come true. The thalassaemia patient has spent much of his life in getting treatment for this painful disease. However, the 18-year-old had a memorable time when he became a police inspector for a day.

“Wearing a police uniform I felt like I have achieved what I wished for, I felt like a bird flying with joy and freedom,” said Faizan, while talking to The Express Tribune. He spent most of his day patrolling, monitoring speed limits, briefing officials among others, which he could have “never thought of doing in one day”. The opportunity to become inspector was provided to Faizan by the National Highways and Motorway Police on Wednesday to commemorate Thalassaemia Week. He had expressed this wish in an application to the police department.

Thalassaemia is an inherited blood disorder which is passed on from parents to the children through their genes. According to the Ministry of Health, thalassaemia is the most prevalent hereditary disease in Pakistan with estimated cases of 100,000. This makes up for almost five per cent of the world cases.

The number of people affected by this disease continue to increase with about 5,000 new births every year. Besides, five to seven per cent of people in this country are “thalassaemia carriers”.

Faizan is the youngest child of his parents and is a second-year student. He was diagnosed with thalassaemia when he was just two and half years old. Since then his life depends on injecting blood after every two weeks.

“It was an awful day when we came to know that our beloved son was a thalassaemia patient and mainly because of us, as on the same day my wife and I were also diagnosed with minor thalassaemia which we were not aware of before,” said Muhammad Ilyas, father of Faizan.

Ilyas got married to Ishrat Sultana who was not from his family. Both did not know that they were thalassaemia patients. If the parents are minor patients of this disease their children are prone to have it as well. They had three kids, two sons and one daughter.

“We were also not aware of having medical tests before getting married,” said Ilyas.

Their daughter named Beenish, who was 19, passed away three months ago. She was also a thalassaemia patient and suffered from typhoid and later from jaundice which badly affected her liver.

“Tears rolled down my eyes and my happiness was beyond expression, when I saw my son in police uniform leading other officials. At that moment all I uttered was ‘may he live long’ despite knowing that such patients do not live for long,” said Sultana, while talking to The Express Tribune.

“After his birth all we have seen him doing is getting blood injected into him in some hospital, she said.

Faizan and his parents said that they were facing difficulties in getting blood and demanded government to establish centres from where the thalassaemia patients could easily get it. Currently Faizan’s parents have to get it either from some army hospital or the Thalassaemia Society of Pakistan.

“I ask all thalassaemia patients to live happily and fight against the disease courageously,” said Faizan, adding that such opportunities give them a hope to live.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 5^th, 2011.