Tafida’s mum kisses daughter at Italian hospital as she celebrates 40th birthday with new hope for child

MUM Shelina Begum kisses daughter Tafida as she celebrates her 40th birthday with new hope for her stricken child.

The tender moment was captured as Shelina helped her five-year-old girl settle in at an Italian hospital.

Dan Charity - The Sun

Mum Shelina Begum kisses her five-year-old daughter Tafida at the world-famous Gaslini children’s hospital in Italy[/caption]

Tafida, condemned to die by NHS doctors, was awake and taking in her new surroundings at the so-called Hospital of Hope.

Her mum, 40 today, said: “I feel excited and overwhelmed being here. A great weight has been lifted from our shoulders.”

Tafida had been on life support at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel since a catastrophic brain bleed in February.

‘EXCITED & OVERWHELMED’

Doctors said it was futile to keep treating her but Shelina and husband Mohammed, 45, won an historic High Court ruling allowing her to go abroad.

On Tuesday, Tafida arrived at Genoa’s Gaslini hospital, where doctors say they can keep her alive for another 20 years.

Yesterday Shelina and husband Mohammed appeared at a press conference at the hospital in Genoa and revealed that Tafida had slept well after her historic journey.

‘SHE IS NOT BRAIN DEAD’

She said: “Tafida is stable and she had a good night’s sleep. We have always said she is not brain dead.

“She needs time allow her brain to repair itself and a programme of rehabilitation to get her body moving.

Luca Ramenghi, professor of neonatal medicine, who once worked for the NHS in Yorkshire revealed that Tafida is expected to soon undergo a tracheostomy operation, which will mean she will be able to breathe on her own.

He said: “Our long-term aim is for Tafida to return to her home in London but it is too soon to say how long that will take.”

Hospital director Paolo Patralia said he was not worried the ruling would mean more desperate parents seeking help in Italy.

He added: “For us they are not English – they are just children. We do not care about their nationality we just want to make them better.”

Lawyers have applied for Tafida, from Plaistow, East London, to become an Italian citizen, to cut medical bills for her family.

• Help raise money towards Tafida’s care by donating here.

Dan Charity - The Sun

Shelina says she is ‘excited and overwhelmed’ that her daughter has arrived safely in Italy[/caption]

Dan Charity - The Sun

Shelina and husband Mohammed Raqeeb, seated right, spoke at a press conference at the Gaslini Hospital in Italy[/caption]

EPA

Shelima and Mohammed’s daughter Tafida became the first British child to be allowed by a court to go abroad for treatment[/caption]

Dan Charity - The Sun

Tafida and her mother Shelina on the air ambulance flight to Genoa[/caption]

PA:Press Association

Mohammed Raqeeb looks on as his daughter Tafida arrives at Genoa airport before she is transported to the city’s Gaslini children’s hospital[/caption]

PA:Press Association

Tafida was hospitalised at the Royal London Hospital after a brain trauma[/caption]

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