A young Yemeni woman who cries stones and sweats blood
A news report tells of a young Yemeni woman with a strange illness that doctors could not explain. Her tears turn into small stones, and her pores release blood.
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How it began
The woman is in her twenties and comes from Bajil, in Hodeidah governorate in the west of Yemen. She told Hassan Faqih of the news website Source Online about her suffering.
Her condition began about 6 months earlier, straight after her marriage. At first she had fainting fits, some lasting four hours.
Then a large swelling appeared in her abdomen. It made her look like a woman in the last months of pregnancy.
No diagnosis
Her family and her husband took her to local clinics and hospitals. The doctors could not diagnose her. Her test results showed that she was free of any disease.
After the swelling, she began to sweat. But instead of normal sweat, a bloody discharge came out of the pores of her body.
Recently her condition grew more alarming. When she cries, her tears come out as hard, stone-like grains of different sizes. The smallest is about the size of a small ant. The grains come not only from her eyes but also from her ears.
Pain and sleeplessness
She says she suffers pain in her eyes when she tries to sleep, which robs her of sleep and peace of mind. On some days she sleeps no more than two hours. Sometimes she faints suddenly from exhaustion.
An appeal for help
Her family cannot afford the advanced medical examinations her condition needs.
Through Source Online, they appealed to medical experts and to people able to help to support her treatment, in Yemen or abroad, so that her condition can be diagnosed and her suffering ended. They also fear that her illness is affecting the stability of her family.