Thread: Christmas SOB Story/A life-or-death deportation of kid

A life-or-death deportation: Ailing boy in legal battle

BY Irving Dejohn
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Tuesday, December 21st 2010, 10:24 AM

Omar Audi, 9, has a rare disease called hereditary angioedema that causes his body to swell and could kill him. He and his family are facing deportation to Lebanon.

A Queens family with a sickly son is hoping for a Christmas miracle.

Dania Tafran and Rawi Audi of Astoria are facing a tough legal battle to remain in the United States, and say their son's life depends on a court's decision.

The couple learned last month they would be deported to their native Lebanon shortly after Christmas. The news sent them into a frenzy to reverse the ruling by the Board of Immigration Appeals.

Tafran says the family must stay in the country because their 9-year-old son Omar suffers from a rare medical condition that can only be treated in the U.S. Deportation would put the boy's life at risk, she says.

Omar is being treated for hereditary angioedema, a disease that causes rapid internal and external swelling.

"He's one of my more severe patients," said Dr. Paula Busse, who diagnosed Omar with the condition in 2007.

The boy receives preventative medication every three days to stop the frightening attacks that cause Omar's airways to inflate, said Busse.

"I feel horrible. I look big and red," Omar said of the flare-ups.

Tafran insists that if the medication was available in Lebanon, the family would leave the country. Their visa expired in 2008.

The fear of deportation has taken its toll on the shy fourth-grader at Public School 234Q, she said.

"It was very hard on him," Tafran said. "He is stressed, he couldn't study, he's cried a lot."

When members of the school's Parent Teachers Association learned of the family's plight they immediately sprung into action, said PTA Co-President Jane Patterson.

"We just felt it was the right thing to do," Patterson said.

The PTA has raised nearly $3,000, contacted local elected officials and helped to get the family legal representation.

"It's a heart-wrenching story but I believe in the long run immigration will do the right thing," said City Council member Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Astoria), who says he supports the family. "With the right push I think it will make a difference."

The family's attorney, Kerry Bretz, said there is a strong possibility it will be able to avoid the Christmas deportation.

Bretz, who is representing the family pro-bono, has appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals to delay deportation until a final decision is made.

"I'm confident that we're going to have a happy ending or at least a temporary solution," said Bretz.

But despite the uncertainty surrounding his status in the U.S., Omar has one simple Christmas wish.

"I want to stay with my parents on the holidays," he said.

The PS 234Q PTA is accepting donations to support the Audi family. Checks can be sent to the school at 30-15 29th St., Queens, N.Y., 11102.


Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/que ... z18nbK89QK

Posted to the comment section:

ratbstard

7:10:02 PM
Dec 21, 2010

I bet they already knew the kids condition before they got here. Some one in Lebanon told them to get to the USA and take him to a hospital there and you'll get him treated for free. American heart strings pulled again by conniving ratbastards. Go ahead and call me a Grinch, I'm sick of government regulations that encourage this kind of ****.

I'll bet he can only be cured through the generosity of the American taxpayer.

Hereditary angioedema

Hereditary means you inherit through your genes. There is a good bet they knew about this condition before they ever came to the US. The article said their visa expired in 2008, its the end of 2010. So they have had 2 years to find a way to deal with this.

I will add a link. It is not a nice disease but these people had 2 YEARS to set something up, now of all a sudden its a major issue?

https://health.google.com/health/ref/He ... angioedema

edit: Article said the boy was diagnosed in 2007, so they had 3 years to set something up. They knew their visa expired in 2008, they have no excuse for not having a plan in place. My prayers go out to the boy, but his parents are at fault here, not us.

I'm sure he can be treated in Lebanon.

Dixie

That's sad to hear about , so basicly we're going to kill the child. Ah well , that's too bad. Our nation kills innocent children every day , the only difference is that their half way around the world.

The boy receives preventative medication every three days to stop the frightening attacks that cause Omar's airways to inflate, said Busse.

So load them up with plenty of the medications and send them on their way. It's pharma products for crying out loud. Then arrange a special delivery through the US consulate in Lebanon when the prescription expires.

I really don't understand what this poor boy's disease has to do with immigration policy, sounds like a major problem with trade policy to me.

This is for Marquis. A few years ago an American kid in his early twenties, living in Manhattan, desperately needed a brain operation to survive. Ah but his financial circumstances were such he couldn't qualify for Medicaid and he didn't have insurance to cover the operation costs.

This poor kid filled out paper work for 2 years to get right with the system. All the time his problem growing worse.

Finally the qualifying paper work came through and he became eligible for the operation. Sadly he had died 2 weeks before.

Americans have to jump through hoops while IAs get whatever they need immediately upon entering a hospital.

(My search skills being limited I tried but could not find the articles about this.)

hell, they might be able to get the meds cheaper in their country.
We all know how drug companies rip us off in the good 'ol USA

Originally Posted by marquis

That's sad to hear about , so basicly we're going to kill the child. Ah well , that's too bad. Our nation kills innocent children every day , the only difference is that their half way around the world.

Dont forget the 50 million US citizens who have been killed in America through abortion....