By Deeksha Prakash | Program Manager
When she was seven months old, baby Sangita was sleeping with her mother near an open kitchen fire inside their family hut, as is common in poor, single-room homes. But she moved too close to the flame and severely burned both hands and her left hip. Her mother woke up to the child screaming and on fire. She did the best she could do for her suffering baby - applying an herbal treatment to the burns as instructed by locals in her village. Since the herbs provided some relief, she did not seek further medical care for the child.
As time went by, the family realized that Sangita wasn't healing and wasn't even able to stretch out her hands. More than a year after the initial injury, they took her to a hospital where she received some basic wound care and was referred to HRDC. Thinking the trip would be more than they could afford, the family decided not to seek further care. Six years later, Sangita's father finally did bring her to the Hospital and Rehabilitation Center for Disabled Children (HRDC) where she received some treatment and was asked to return for follow-up visits. But despite HRDC reaching out, she didn't turn up for follow-ups.
About a decade later, one of HRDC's field volunteers identified Sangita, still severely disabled from her childhood injury and incomplete treatment, and unable to use her right hand. After extensive counseling, the field volunteer convinced Sangita to return to the hospital for follow-up treatment. Following skin grafting and surgery at HRDC, Sangita is finally able to move the index finger on her right hand for the first time since the accident. During her treatment, she attended the HRDC school and took part in the games children are encouraged to play. She's now able to manage day-to-day activities by herself, does well in school and loves to sing, and is by all accounts a happy and hopeful young woman.
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