6 March 2015 www.womanthismonth.com letters www.womanthismonth.com Bahrain Edition BEAUTY | FASHION | PEOPLE | WELLBEING | PARENTING | LOCAL ISSUES February 2015 | Issue 144 | BD1 / SR10 HOME CREATE A BEDROOM SANCTUARY SCARF ART WITH THE ANNADA SISTERS ROMANTIC DINING THE BEST RESTAURANTS INSPIRATIONS ZAIN AL KHALIFA localppl.com Write Here Write Now We want to hear your thoughts on Woman This Month. Write to us at [email protected] Get in touch by email, Twitter, Facebook or Instagram! Dear WTM Editor, I read the article Tu Me Manques written by Dr Jinan Harith Darwish in the February 2015 issue with great interest. As a blessed mother of four healthy children, the article left a great impact on me. I found the difference in life expectancy in different countries to be astounding, frustrating and outrageous. I hope that this article is the first in many steps that will bring wider attention to the disease of Cystic Fibrosis in the Bahraini community. I wish postnatal screening for the gene could be available in the Kingdom as is the case in the UK. As the saying goes, the pen is mightier than the sword, so it is my hope that the magazine can advocate for such progress to be made towards treating Cystic Fibrosis. Jude Al Ali, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Refer a friend #WTMContest! Fans were asked to tag their friends and like the WTM pages on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. The contest saw a lot of participation from our fans resulting in an increase in people liking the WTM page. The #WTMQuote was most liked on Instagram. The WTM Fan of the Month Contest has been a major hit on Facebook. Winners will be announced in our next issue. The Fan of the Month Winner will WIN diamond jewellery sponsored by Devji since 1950. Dinner is ready! I’m a working mum and I don’t have much time or even patience to spend in the kitchen, particularly after work. I would rather play with my kids and give them attention. So, when I saw in your magazine that Alosra is selling Mash Direct in Bahrain, I had to take some time and write this letter to you. My life is going to be a lot easier now! I can prepare a protein plate and just warm the side dish. I find it very practical and definitely worthy information to be shared. Thank you! Sarah WTM team, I’d like to thank you for the amazing selection of best restaurants for a romantic night in your Love Actually article. I’m new on the island and I’ll be celebrating my 10th anniversary soon. I would love to go to a nice restaurant for a special evening, but had no clue of which restaurants I should consider. I think I have my choice now (with your help) for the grand day, but I’ll probably try all of them in the future! Victoria 46 February 2015 February 2015 www.womanthismonth.com www.womanthismonth.com 47 LIFESTYLE | parenting "One hundred years from now, It won't matter what car I drove, What kind of house I lived in, How much I had in my bank account, Nor what my clothes looked like, But, the world may be a little better Because I was important in the life of a child." – Anonymous. Dr Jinan Harith Darwish pays tribute to one of her cystic fibrosis patients. Tu Me Manques The abrupt course of respiratory failure that led to the demise of Sukaina Hamed Fadhul on December 2, 2014, during her last admission to Salmaniya Medical Complex a fortnight after she celebrated her 14th birthday, urged me to pay tribute to her and to her two siblings who lost their lives to cystic fibrosis (CF) at the ages of 26 days and 14 years respectively. The Fadhul family became accustomed to having their children surrounded by medical paraphernalia, using bizarre-looking flutter devices and taking an array of nebulisers and medications. Sukaina had great hope to go abroad to Great Ormond Street Hospital in London for advanced medical care and an ultimate lung transplant, so she could grow to become a lung transplant surgeon and cure people who share her disease. One cruel twist is that CF can be a lonely and solitary condition as CFers are advised not to meet face-to-face for fear of making themselves more ill from crossinfection (different people can carry different bacteria). It means they cannot socialise easily or give each other regular support; therefore she reverted to utilising social media through her Instagram account to communicate with her CF counterparts and to search for a cure by following global medical professionals treating the disease. As much as she despised her daily health battle, it had given her a perspective on life that many people may never attain or will only encounter later in life. Sukaina, with her life-threatening condition, had a pronounced ability to not only identify but fully appreciate magic moments, as they contrasted so strikingly with her usual daily hardship. Death, as heartbreaking as it was to each person whose life she blessed, liberated her from a disease that was eating her away. On her last eve, she addressed her father with a living will that confirmed for a final time her altruism. Cystic fibrosis is one of Bahrain's not so uncommon, life-threatening recessive inherited diseases. An individual must inherit two defective CF genes, one from each parent, to have the disease. Each time two carriers conceive, there is a 25 per cent chance of passing cystic fibrosis to their children; a 50 per cent chance that the child will be a carrier of the CF gene; and a 25 per cent chance that the child will be a non-carrier. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the incidence of CF in Bahrain is 1:5,800.This is based on a 1998 study published locally. Cystic Fibrosis affects around 56 people that we know of that follow up at Salmaniya Medical Complex, with ages ranging from 10 months to 23 years. There are others who are overwhelmed with the diagnosis and travel to their countries of origin for treatment. In 1962, the UK predicted the median survival age was 10 years. The median predicted survival for someone with cystic fibrosis currently stands at 41 years. According to the statistics in the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's national patient registry, currently half of those with CF will live to over 41 years – many people even live into their fifties and sixties. A baby born in the UK today can be expected to live longer. Yet, today in Bahrain, we don't have any statistics on the median predicted survival; but less than a handful have made it past their childhood into adolescence. In the UK, since October 2007, all babies are offered screening for CF shortly after birth as part of the heel-prick blood test. Unfortunately, that's not the case in Bahrain. The National Newborn Screening Programme encompasses sickle cell disease, thalassemia, G6PD reduced activity and congenital hypothyroidism only. Cystic fibrosis is a chronic progressive and life-threatening genetic disease that produces very thick and sticky mucus. This mucus can clog and/or affect multiple organ systems but primarily affects the lungs and pancreas. The leading theory is that for people with CF, ions and water do not move across the epithelium, the thin layer of tissue that lines all parts of the body. This makes it harder for tiny hair-like structures called cilia to wave around or ‘beat’, which would normally move mucus and the airborne bacteria it traps out of the lungs and airways. When mucus clogs the airways of the lungs it can make breathing very difficult. It also provides a great breeding ground for bacteria that gets stuck in the airways and causes inflammation and serious, frequent, and sometimes life-threatening lung infections. When an individual with cystic fibrosis gets reoccurring lung infections, irreversible lung damage results. The pancreas releases important enzymes that help us digest our food. These enzymes are not able to be released in CF patients because of the thick mucus. This makes it very hard to retain important nutrients and fats which in turn makes it very hard to gain and maintain weight. Supplemental enzymes are taken before each snack and meal to help in the digestive process. People with CF have a variety of symptoms including: very salty-tasting skin; persistent coughing, at times with phlegm; wheezing or shortness of breath; an excessive appetite but poor weight gain; and greasy, bulky stools. The disease has contributed much more to science than science has contributed to the disease. There is currently no cure for CF. In 2014, the US Food and Drug Administration declared Ivacaftor, the drug approved for CF sufferers, is showing promising results. Existing gene therapy trials in the UK are bringing people with the illness closer to a form of cure. Gene therapy is a way of treating or curing a disease by adding a copy of a healthy gene to do the job of a faulty one. Gene therapy is not a cure for cystic fibrosis, but effective gene therapy could halt or prevent the lung damage that causes 90 per cent of deaths. Gene therapy would benefit most people with cystic fibrosis and works regardless of age as it replaces the faulty gene mutation with a correct version. Although it cannot reverse lung damage, it would stop lungs from deteriorating further. g Bayan Hameed Abdulla Fadhul (1998-2012) Sukaina Hameed Abdulla Fadhul (2000-2014) FEATURE | dining 58 February 2015 www.womanthismonth.com Love Actually It’s the month of moonlight and music and love and romance, so we’ve picked our top ten of the island’s most romantic venues for that all-important dinner à deux. Fusions Described as ‘where East meets West’, Fusions, at The Gulf Hotel, would make this list on its views alone without the eclectic interiors and a menu that includes something to suit almost every palate. Get there early and watch the sun go down over the rooftops of Adliya as you share a glass of bubbles. Call 17 713-000. Lanterns Put some spice into your evening with a Valentine’s meal at Lanterns in Adliya where you can enjoy the pretty garden, complete with heaters, or move inside to the authentic - looking Indian interiors for some of the finest sub-continent food on the island coupled with sitar music and subdued lighting. Call 17 250-999. Camelot Dinner in your very own castle; what could be more romantic? OK, Camelot isn’t actually a real castle but the impressive exterior, plush furnishings and a menu with a decidedly French feel coupled with a rather superior cellar make this an obvious choice for that romantic dinner for two. Call 17 717-745. La Fontaine The original and still one of the very best, once described as a place where even dinner for one would be romantic, La Fontaine has serious credentials on the loving front since it even hosts weddings in the gorgeous outdoor courtyard. Whether you want to dine al fresco, beside the fountain which gives the place its name, or in the glass-fronted terrace, you can expect some seriously good food in beautifully atmospheric surroundings. Call 17 230-123. La Mer One of the island’s prettiest settings, La Mer sits above the water upstairs from Tapas at Sofitel Bahrain Zallaq Thalassa Sea & Spa. The restaurant itself has excellent service and a varied fish menu but, to really add to the romance factor, ask for a table downstairs on the outdoor terrace. Gently lapping waves and candlelight are just what Cupid ordered. Call 17 636-363. www.womanthismonth.com 55 February 2015 THE PERFECT MATCH How often does it happen that after spending the entire day cooking for a dinner party you realise you’ve run out of time to get started on the side dishes? Happens to the best of us! Racing against time, the decision to fix the house, and maybe even yourself, usually wins over spending another 30 minutes in the kitchen. Fortunately, you can now avoid this situation by making a quick run to your nearest Alosra supermarket to purchase Mash Direct, one of the UK’s most popular ready-to-serve food brands, now available in the fresh and friendly supermarket across the kingdom. “Mash Direct is the market leader when it comes to quality and homemade dishes, like vegetable and potato sides,” says Pavlos Babiolakis, Alosra’s marketing and product development manager. Tracy and Martin Hamilton have owned their farm in County Down for many years and ensure the most delicious and ripest vegetables are selected for the Mash Direct range. In addition to this, the range is suitable for microwave and oven heating. However, the unique selling point of the line is that it is free from artificial preservatives, flavourings and colourings, as well as being low in salt. Baby Bakes (baby potatoes sprinkled with breadcrumbs and seasoned with herbs), Colcannon Gratin (mashed potato and Savoy cabbage with a creamy garlic sauce), Red Cabbage and Beetroot, and Spicy Potato Wedges, are just some of the products available in-store. With the quality and convenience attached, you might think that these products would come at a high cost, but the retailers have priced them at a moderate BD1.595 to BD1.995. FRESH AND FRIENDLY Serving the Kingdom with quality produce for more than three decades, Alosra supermarket provides local and exotic items at great value. Part of the BMMI group, the store’s primary focus is on delivering quality over quantity, boasting a wide range of carefully selected products. “We have always focused on offering the most premium-quality products in the Kingdom, to satisfy all the needs and tastes of our diverse base of loyal customers,” says Pavlos. “This quality is evident in products such as the 100-per-cent New Zealand lamb and beef, which we have purchased from farmers who operate with a proven record of animal welfare, food safety and quality.” The meat comes from healthily reared animals and is free of hormones and artificial substances. “Another main focus is to provide great customer service. We adopt a rigid philosophy of continuous improvement. This is the foundation of our working culture,” he adds. The organisation has a strong, socially responsible character, which comes to light through its various campaigns for local charities and its own in-house charitable foundation, established in 2009. The latest branch, in Juffair, is the group’s sixth outlet on the island in addition to its stores in Saar, Amwaj, Riffa Views, Durrat Al Bahrain and Nakheel. Call 17 697-558 or visit www.alosraonline.com You might have the perfect roast, but it’s often the humble sides that can make or break a meal. Alosra supermarket brings to you delicious side dishes that could well become the main attraction on your dinner table. showcase Nisha Chandrama is the winner of our Refer a Friend Contest. She receives a complimentary voucher for Ramee Grand Hotel & Spa. Congratulations Nisha!! WTM Social Buzz The Most talked about Picture on WTM’s Instagram Follow us on: Instagram: @woman_this_month Twitter: @WomanThisMonthB Facebook: Woman This Month Letter
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