'Stolen phone can help wife'

18 November 2009

Hospitalised Sobia in a coma

THE husband of a seriously ill Plaistow woman is desperate for thieves to return a stolen mobile phone that contains vital information.

Sobia Bilal, 26, lies in a coma in a hospital bed at The Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel oblivious to the cries of her son and baby daughter or the daily visits by her husband Ahmad.

Mr Bilal, 41, of Queens Terrace, Plaistow, was in Green Street, Upton Park, waiting to catch a bus to visit his wife when two mobile phones were stolen.

One of them, a black Nokia 97 featuring the GPRS system, holds crucial details about his wife's condition.

He is desperate for the phone's return. He told the Recorder: "On that day it was her 132nd unconscious day and her whole medical history is saved in this mobile - her scanning reports, over four months of pictures - and I haven't got any back-up. This mobile is useless to anyone else and if they (the thieves) want to sell it, please sell it to me. Call me on 07900 956 735."

His wife's condition means he is the sole carer for the couple's two children, Mujtabaa, four, and Bakhtawar, 17 months.

Sobia began experiencing back pain in August 2008 and was prescribed painkillers. X-rays and an MRI scan showed three discs had slipped in her back

On June 30, she fell unconscious and was taken to Newham General Hospital where it was discovered she had fluid on the brain.

Full story by Kay Atwal in this week's Recorder