KARACHI: The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said on Wednesday the weather system that brought days of heavy rain to Karachi has now moved away from the city, ruling out chances of another spell of intense downpours.

The depression over the North Arabian Sea shifted westwards in the past six hours and is currently located about 110 kilometres east-southeast of Pasni, having exited Karachi. The system is expected to weaken into a well-marked low-pressure area within the next 12 hours.

The department forecast partly cloudy and humid conditions for Karachi on Thursday, with only light rain or drizzle likely in some areas. Temperatures are expected to remain between 29°C and 31°C, with high morning humidity dropping slightly by evening.

Meanwhile, the Met Department has warned of rising water levels in the River Indus. Guddu is expected to reach very high flood levels within the next 24 hours, while Sukkur is likely to experience high flood levels after 24 hours.

The forecast for Friday suggests partly cloudy and humid weather, with maximum temperatures increasing to around 30–32°C.

Downpours have inundated several low-lying areas today as the metropolis endured a third consecutive day of heavy monsoon rains, with rivers overflowing and rescue teams shifting hundreds of residents to safety.

While water was drained from Shahrah-e-Faisal, major arteries, the M-9 Motorway, and Lyari Expressway — now reopened to traffic — several localities remained underwater. A Motorway Police spokesperson confirmed that both the motorway and expressway were clear of standing water.

At least four people drowned in the Gadap River during the downpours, and two bodies, including that of a woman, have been recovered so far.

Lyari and Malir rivers, however, swelled dangerously, flooding Saadi Garden and Saadi Town, where lanes, neighbourhoods, and vehicles were submerged.

The rising Malir River also brought water onto the Korangi Causeway. In the Federal B Area and Shafi Colony, water that had entered homes from the Lyari River began to recede.

Rescue 1122, PDMA, and Pakistan Army teams carried out overnight operations, evacuating more than 350 people from flooded areas. In Gadap, another body was recovered from the river, bringing the tally to two recovered out of four who drowned, including a woman.

Emma Heming Willis said her family’s decision to provide Bruce Willis with a separate home close to their residence drew online criticism, but she stands by the choice as the safest option for the actor, who was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia.

“I knew it was coming,” Heming Willis said on “CBS Mornings.” “Because caregivers are so judged, right? We already judge ourselves … I think for each caregiving journey is our own, each care plan is their own. You have to be ready to sort of be nimble and be able to pivot. But most importantly to do what is the safest for your person and for your family.”

The blended family — which includes Bruce Willis’ three daughters with ex-wife Demi Moore and two daughters with Heming Willis — support each other through the caregiving journey, she said. 

“I’m so blessed to be able to have them on this journey. You know, we just love and support Bruce so much. Our life is very simple. Our life is really simplified, and there’s something really beautiful about that, just being able to be in these moments that are so fleeting,” she said. 

Heming Willis’ new book, “The Unexpected Journey: Finding Strength, Hope, and Yourself on the Caregiving Path,” shares her family’s experience after Willis was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, also known as FTD, following his 2022 retirement from acting due to cognitive health issues.

She said she wrote the book to help other caregivers navigate the challenges of caring for loved ones with dementia.

“I realized that the unexpected was born from this idea that I have the time, the energy, the access and the resources to be able to take the wisdom and insight from this journey that I’m on still and bring in experts and specialist,” Heming Willis said. “It was a way for me to be able to pay it forward.”

Coping as a caregiver

Heming Willis said caregivers often struggle with decision fatigue and need practical guidance.

“I think that caregivers are so fatigued with making decisions all the time,” she said. “I really want to just put some actionable, tangible ideas into this book so that caregivers don’t have to think too hard. Sometimes I just want someone to tell me, like, tell me what to do because we’re so maxed out.”

A neurologist informed her that caregivers often die before their patients, with mortality rates 63% higher than people their age.

“I was floored by it, and it was the wake-up call I needed. I needed to hear that so I could understand and start to really take my own health seriously and prioritize it,” Heming Willis said.

She said 40% of caregivers cannot make their own doctor appointments due to lack of support and help. Heming Willis said she initially didn’t realize she was allowed to ask for help.

“I didn’t know I was allowed to ask for help,” she said. “I’ve always been very self-sufficient and independent, and I’ve really had to unravel that because I realize I needed to raise my hand and know that I wasn’t a failure because I was asking for help.”

Heming Willis said the early signs of her husband’s condition were hard to identify. Their communication began to break down, and routines that once felt aligned no longer did. She described the changes as subtle but noticeable, creating a sense that things were off. After receiving Bruce Willis’ diagnosis, she said doctors provided little guidance.

“I walked out with nothing, no hope, no direction, no road map, nothing,” she said. “I was stunned. And that is how this unexpected — from that traumatic moment was where that book comes from.”

“The Unexpected Journey” is now available for purchase.

LONDON: British-Pakistani paediatric consultant Dr Sher Bahadur Anjum has successfully treated two young thalassaemia patients through gene therapy, transforming their lives to complete normality — for the first time in the UK.

Dr Anjum, who specialises in haematology (blood disorders) at Newham Hospital in East London, part of Barts Health NHS Trust, led a team of carers at the Newham Hospital to treat the two young boys, now aged 11 and 13, of Bangladeshi background.

Thalassemia is a genetic condition that is most common in those who are Pakistani, Indian, and Bangladeshi. It is a blood disorder, and people with thalassemia have low iron and oxygen levels in the body. This can make them severely anaemic — tired, short of breath, and pale.

To treat their thalassemia, the two patients needed to go to the hospital for blood transfusions every month, which had a major impact on their quality of life. The only cure is a stem cell or bone marrow transplant, but this is not done very often because of the risks involved, and it can be difficult to find donors.

Thanks to an innovative new gene therapy administered by Dr Anjum and his team, working with Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), the two young boys, now aged 11 and 13, are now living healthy, happy lives without further hospital visits or regular blood transfusions.

Before getting the 4-week treatment at GOSH, Dr Anjum and the healthcare team at Newham Hospital conducted extensive pre-gene therapy care over three months, which included blood testing, vaccinations and maintaining the correct haemoglobin levels. Their care at Newham also continued long after the treatment, with monitoring, blood counts and managing the side effects.

When Dr Anjum first approached the families, they were both hesitant to start this therapy as it was new, and requires an initial longer hospital stay. However, after almost 12 months of speaking to them, listening and answering their questions and concerns, they were reassured to start the treatment for their children.

Now their lives have changed forever thanks to the treatment, and they want to encourage other South Asian parents to take up the offer if doctors find them eligible.

Dr Anjum, who originally studied in Gilglit Baltistan’s Astoria village and then Abbottabad Medical College (AMC) told Geo News: “Gene therapy is a new treatment that aims to fix the problem at its root. Doctors take some of your child’s own blood stem cells, add a healthy copy of the gene needed to make haemoglobin, and then return these cells to the body after special preparation. The goal is that your child’s body starts making enough haemoglobin on its own, so they no longer need regular blood transfusions. In many children, this has already worked successfully.

“Both of my patients had grown up knowing nothing but hospital visits and transfusions. Their parents had shouldered years of emotional and practical struggles, doing everything possible to keep their children well. When Barts Health NHS Trust was asked to identify patients for the new gene therapy programme, we saw a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“But convincing the families was not simple. Gene therapy is new, complex, and frightening to parents who have already endured so much. Understandably, both families were hesitant and fearful of risks. It took almost a year of continuous conversations, reassurance, and building trust before they agreed. At the Great Ormond Street Hospital, I was given an honorary contract so I could support the children and their families before, during, and after the procedure. The therapy itself was intense, requiring months of preparation, but the courage of these families carried them through.

“Six months on, the transformation is extraordinary. These children, once tethered to hospital beds and transfusion schedules, are now living normal lives without the need for blood transfusions. Their energy has returned, their futures are brighter, and their families have finally been released from the unending cycle of hospital visits.”

Dr Anjum said that for the first time, families affected by thalassaemia can imagine a future where their children are free from the shadow of chronic illness. “It shows the power of gene therapy to turn despair into hope, and it highlights what collaboration within the NHS can achieve when we put patients and families at the heart of care.”