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PROUD grandfather Omar Faqihi and his family joined American Mission Hospital’s (AMH) celebratory campaign as they welcomed baby Deena to the world … making her the third generation to be delivered at its facility.
Last month, the hospital launched a social media campaign asking former patients to send in baby pictures of themselves or relatives born on its premises to mark the milestone of 50,000 babies being delivered.
They will be added to a dedicated ‘wall of fame’ in the main building of the Manama facility. Furthermore, a small number of baby images have been selected at random with prizes, such as free health check-ups and giveaways, and given to the participants.
Retired construction engineering project manager, Omar, heard about the initiative through friends and sent in his photographs along with his twin sister Donya’s, a substitute teacher who works in administration at a school in Gudaiybiya, as they were born there on November 4, 1964.
“This is such a beautiful campaign bringing people together from around the island,” said Omar. “Families that might have moved away from one another are now being reunited by these fond memories.”
According to the 54-year-old from Hidd, his father, Mahmood, was the one who suggested his wife, Khadija Al Awadi, deliver at AMH’s labour ward … and it seems the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.
Omar jumped on the family bandwagon and had his children Sara, 25, an architect, Hafsa, 23, a nutrition university student in Doha, born there, as well as Abdulaziz, 12, and Khadija, eight, who both attend schools in Arad. Their pictures were also added to the campaign.
However, his 20-year-old son Mahmood, who is studying accounting at the University of Bahrain and Abdulla, 17, studying business and administration at University of Sharjah, were not delivered there although their mother did receive consultation throughout the pregnancy.
“I don’t really know why my dad chose AMH; probably because he believed it was better than the other clinics back in the day,” the father-of-six explained. “When my wife Hend Abdulla, was pregnant with our eldest, Sara, I asked around about AMH and was told its standards were still high and that it was a great hospital.
“From the moment we stepped foot in there and witnessed the treatment offered by the nurses, the administration staff and everyone really, we felt comfortable and at home. Our doctor Celia White was fantastic and took such great care of us.
“She made our first experience of childbirth a pleasant one from the consultation to the day of the delivery. It was then that we knew that all of our children would be born there. Dr Celia helped with the birth of Sara and also took care of my wife when she was pregnant with Hafsa.”
Now there are further celebrations all around as Sara recently gave birth to Deena on August 13, a day before her very own birthday, adding her to AMH’s family connection. Sara said she was delighted to have her daughter delivered there too and found AMH to being ‘extremely caring’.
Omar added: “I’d like to thank the hospital for the way they have treated us all these years from the birth of my children to the birth of my granddaughter.
“They made us feel as though we were part of the family and while the system and medical equipment may have been updated, the hospital’s warm and inviting demeanour and care is still the same.
“It feels like this is our hospital now!”
As reported in GulfWeekly, AMH, which was officially opened in 1903 and was at the time the sole healthcare provider in Bahrain, reached out to identify as many people as possible whose life began within the hospital’s walls during its near 120-year history.
To the delight of group CEO, Julia Tovey, the response was phenomenal and the hospital’s Facebook pages have been inundated with photographs stretching from faded black-and-white wallet photographs to full-colour digital images.
