A patient with thalassemia raises the slogan of strength and wins sports championships

Citizen Jamal Hussein Hammadi (29 years old) challenged thalassemia and became an athlete, achieving first places in local and international championships for the marathon, motorcycles, and skiing (patina).

Although his disease afflicts many of its sufferers with weak structure and strength, he was able to control it, and became among the thalassemia patients who achieved championships for the Emirates.

Hammadi told Al-Emarat Al-Youm: “My mother learned that I had thalassemia when I was a fetus, as she conducted a laboratory examination in a German hospital that showed that I had the disease,” and he added: “With the first week of my life, my family surrounded me with great care, which continued until I entered school.” “The matter reached the point that my parents prevented me from practicing sports at all, against my wishes.”

He continues: “I felt that I would be a prisoner of this disease, and would not live my life normally, so I convinced my family that my regular treatment would qualify me to exercise without affecting my health, and I would conquer the disease.”

Hammadi explains that “he received full treatment at the Thalassemia Center at Latifa Hospital in Dubai, which protected him from exposure to emaciation, delayed growth, or bone damage, and prevented him from severe complications of the disease, and the person responsible for following up on patients at the center, Dr. Issam Dhair, motivated him to exercise without fear.” ».

He continues: “I turned to practicing skateboarding with sneakers, and achieved outstanding results among the game’s practitioners in Dubai. When I reached the age of 18, my fellow fans of the game and I formed a sports team to participate in international sports tournaments.”

He added: “On my own initiative, I participated in an international tournament in Kuwait, in which I achieved first place. Then I followed that up by participating in an international tournament in Malaysia, in which I achieved third place.”

Hammadi continued to excel at the game until he became proficient in jumping with skates from great heights, skating backwards, or doing handstands and skateboarding.

Hammadi was not satisfied with his excellence in this sport, but he continued to challenge the disease and decided to train in running, and participated in a four-kilometre running marathon, held in Dubai, in which he achieved first place.

In addition to his athletic excellence, Hammadi recently turned to the hobby of modifying motorcycles and creating new additions to them. He participated with his bikes in two exhibitions held in Kuwait and Qatar over the past and current years, and won first place, describing him as “succeeding in transforming a motorcycle into something resembling a racing car.” ». Although he became a professional in sports, he “did not fall behind academically, as he passed high school with distinction, joined the UAE University, obtained a bachelor’s degree in public relations, and then worked as an administrative officer at Dubai Airports.”

Because he feels the suffering of thalassemia patients, he volunteered to work in the Emirates Thalassemia Patients Association, and became a member of its board of directors, to contribute to helping every patient.