How this Omani footballer reclaimed the sleep he had lost to a rare illness

Muscat: Salim is returning to his homeland after a traumatic five years during which he literally spent sleepless nights.
Salim Khamis Al Gammari, a well known football player affiliated to a football club in the Sultanate, suffered from an illness called Bilateral vocal fold (vocal cord) immobility (BVFI) that made his life miserable.
Also referred to as Bilateral Vocal Fold Paralysis, BVFI is a broad term that refers to all forms of reduced or absent movement of the vocal folds. This also caused breathing problems. According to one of his relatives, Salim could not sleep continuously for more than half an hour.
“He was not able to sleep well because of the breathing problem and was forced to let go of his career and his favourite sport, football,” Badr Gammari told the Times of Oman.
He also said Salim lost weight and became frail because of this sickness. According to health experts, this condition can even lead to death because of the breathing issues if it is not treated well.
With the help of his friends and relatives, he went to Kerala, a southern Indian state, for treatment at the Ascent ENT hospital in Perinthalmanna, Malappuram district.
According to the hospital officials, the doctors diagnosed Salim having this condition and explained the procedure of treatment.
‘After convincing Salim about the treatment procedures, he returned to Oman to change his Visa into medical visa and reached here on April 26,” Shabeer, PRO of Ascent hospital told the Times of Oman.
On April 28, Salim underwent a rare surgery, called Coblation in Kashima. To avoid bleeding during the operation, doctors used the most modern technologies.
The surgical procedure was led by Dr Sharafudeen, and he was assisted by senior doctors of the hospital. According to the hospital officials, Salim is perfectly fine now and he can sleep well without any breathing issues.
“He is perfectly fine at the moment and is coming back to Oman on Friday morning,” Badr, his relative, confirmed.
His relatives and his friends are eagerly waiting to see Salim and everyone hopes he will be able to resume playing his favourite sport.