Two months after she was severely injured in a train accident, 23-year-old Dravita Singh walked without support for the first time on Friday. Ms. Singh fell off a running train after she was hit by a 17-year-old who robbed her phone. She lost a part of her right foot and her big toe in the incident. “I want to get back to my job,” said Ms. Singh, who worked as a part-time accountant at a firm in South Mumbai. “I know it won’t be easy but I am going to try.”
On the morning of February 7, Ms. Singh had boarded her usual train from Kalyan to CSMT. She was standing on the foot board to access the network on her phone, when she was hit by a bamboo. The impact of the assault was such that Ms. Singh fell off the train near Masjid Bunder station.
Ms. Singh was admitted to the State-run JJ Hospital and later shifted to Bhatia Hospital. “There is a need for special security in trains. I survived, but somebody else might not have. If there had been even one constable in the compartment that day, maybe she could have helped me,” said Ms. Singh.
Besides the injury to her lower limb, Ms. Singh had a severe head injury and multiple abrasions all over her body, while her left hand was crushed. She had to undergo six surgeries including the debridement procedure that involves removing dead and damaged tissue and skin grafting.
According to plastic surgeon Dr. Shailesh Ranade, not amputating Ms Singh’s foot was a challenging decision. “By choosing not to amputate, we were running the risk of her contracting septicemia,” said Dr. Ranade, adding she also underwent a procedure that involved removal of bacteria from her wounds that helped in healing her crushed foot.
While Ms. Singh walked in sports shoes on Friday, Dr. Ranade said she will need to use special footwear for six weeks to three months. “The footwear has a silicone insole and is shaped in a way that directs the pressure to the hindfoot; the forefoot doesn’t touch the ground at all.” The doctors plan to give her silicone prostheses to replace the fingers and the toe after three months when the swelling reduces. Ms. Singh now visits the hospital occasionally for physiotherapy.
The hospital has waived Ms. Singh’s medical expenses. Her father Hemant Kumar said such gestures should be shown by hospitals across the city. “We are indebted to the hospital for what they have done,” he said.
