Expo 2020 Dubai: This Expecting Mother Covered 100-Plus Pavilions In A Wheelchair

by Shrestha Purkayastha
Expo 2020 Dubai: This Expecting Mother Covered 100-Plus Pavilions In A Wheelchair

Reeshma Rafi, a world traveller with a passion for cultures, had to put her travel plans on wait this year, just like the rest of us. But it’s a little more problematic for the 26-year-old pregnant mother, for whom doctor visits are her only way out of bed rest. Reeshma has virtually seen the entire world from her Expo 2020-provided wheelchair, right here in Dubai, in December 2021.

“I was told not to walk too much. I’m 28 weeks pregnant, and because this is a challenging pregnancy, I’ve been advised to stay in bed until the eighth month.” Gulf News received the same information from Reeshma. She subsequently reveals in an interview that she received the advice after suffering from a subchorionic haemorrhage, an uncommon disorder in pregnancy in which blood collects between the embryo and the uterine wall. I’ve only gone to the doctors and Expo in the last seven months.

Picture Credits: Gulfnews

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Her Wheelchair, She Can See The World

Reeshma makes it a point to attend the world fair at least once a week, hiking through all 10 pavilions. This itinerary has allowed her to visit more than 100 of the world fair’s 192 country pavilions thus far. All of the credit, she claims, goes to her “travel-holic” husband, who has visited 31 countries as well as Antarctica. The Expo 2020 venue is only 15 minutes from our Remraam home, yet we were unable to visit even once because I was instructed not to walk too far.

Also Read: Expo 2020 Dubai Is Hosting First-Ever Vegan Food Festival In The Middle East You Simply Can’t Miss!

The pregnant Indian mother needed a wheelchair and a strong support system to break the record. The couple travels from pavilion to pavilion, collecting stamps in their Expo passports, collecting travel brochures, and learning about different cultures. One of the main reasons we came to the Expo is that we are a travel pair who enjoy learning more about different countries throughout the world. As a result, we acquired information from each tent in preparation for our future travels.

Picture Credits: Gulfnews

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It Was An Easy Process Working With The Hospital Staff

At Expo, visitors can rent wheelchairs for free at each entrance and all Visitor Centers on a first-come, first-served basis. The complex and its services, which cover 4.38 square kilometres, are no challenge for Reeshma, especially because the person has been so kind, she says.

Also Read: Expo 2020 Dubai Suspends Activities Including Parades To Curb COVID-19 Spread

Picture Credits: Gulfnews