The eight-year-old girl brought over from Tripoli with horrific injuries has made a slight improvement but remains “very much at risk”.
I think she will surmount this battle
“The girl is stable, but her condition is not good,” according to Mater Dei Hospital’s official update.
Three weeks ago Ritag Habib was playing with her siblings in the hallway of their home in Sabha, southwest of Tripoli, when a rocket-propelled grenade smashed through the roof and the blast sliced off her abdominal wall.
She was flown to Malta, with her father Idris on October 21 to receive further treatment at Mater Dei’s Intensive Therapy Unit. The decision to bring the young girl to Malta was coordinated by the Defence Department within the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) and arrangements were made by the Health Ministry.
Tarek Tarhoumi, who forms part of a team that serves as a go-between for Libyan patients’ relatives, medical staff and the OPM, was full of praise for hospital staff and the Defence Department who he said were doing a fantastic job in helping those injured in the Libyan conflict.
Hamza Elmahaishi, a Libyan doctor who is also part of this team, was more optimistic than the official update and said Ritag was getting a little better dayby day.
“She was very critical, but her condition has stabilised and she is in less pain. Today [yesterday] she was breathing for a short while on her own,” Dr Elmahaishi said, who together with Mr Habib, visits the girl in hospital every day.
Mr Tarhoumi said the girl’s father had settled down among expats in Malta and his morale was good. He called his family in Libya every day to update them on Ritag’s progress.
Ritag arrived in Malta with infections and had to build up her energy after suffering pneumonia. Eventually, she will have to undergo plastic surgery to rebuild her missing abdominal wall.
Tomorrow, Ritag will be prepared to undergo a small operation, but Dr Hamza is optimistic she will pull through.
“Although her condition is vulnerable, I think she will surmount this battle,” he said.