22 October,2013 07:05 AM IST | | Richa Pinto
For Sameera Quazi, life has become one living hell for the last one month. After her home came crashing down on September 21 when the five-storeyed Banoo building at Mumbra collapsed, there is nothing the 27-year-old has to live for. Struggling to live after she was trapped in the debris, Sameera, who lost her husband in the collapse, is now living with the aid of machines -- a pipe inserted in her throat helps her breathe.
Living nightmare: Doctors say that since the time Sameera was admitted to Kalsekar Hospital, she has regained consciousness only onceu00a0and is not even aware that she has lost her husband
Doctors at Kalsekar Hospital, where she has been bedridden since the collapse, said that there had been no improvement in her condition. In fact, they added that her condition had worsened. She neither talks nor is mobile and doctors say her kidneys aren't functioning well too. Additionally, the police haven't taken her statement yet, as she is unable to talk.
Dr Ibrahim Choughle, medical director of Kalsekar Hospital, said, "Initially, when she was brought here, we thought that we would give her the required first-aid and shift her to a government hospital. But she has been in no condition to be shifted.
We even thought of later shifting her to Sion Hospital, but we could not because of her fragile condition. During this one-month, she has regained consciousness only once and is unaware of the fact that she has lost her husband. Her extended family hardly comes to meet her."
Dr Choughle added that her medical bills, which have amounted to Rs 5.5 lakh as of date, have been paid by the trust of the hospital. "What is worst is that after the collapse, we had to amputate her leg and she has remained unresponsive to all treatment," he added.
Sameera was one of the unfortunate four people who were inside the building when it crumbled to the ground. However, Sameera, who lived with her husband and five-year-old daughter Madiya, was the lone survivor. Her husband, in fact, had come to India from Saudi Arabia just a few days ago. He had gone back into the building a few seconds before it fell only to collect his passport, which he was afraid of losing.
Speaking to MiD DAY, Muneera Malim, one of Sameera's cousins, said that they visited her sometimes at the hospital. "The accident was the worst thing to happen to the family. Her husband had come home just to spend some time with his daughter and wife. Since she was the only person who survived, we had hopes of her recovering, but seeing her in her present condition, the future seems bleak to us."
The collapse
On September 21, around 7.30 am, Banoo building at Mumbra collapsed. Unlike the previous two building collapses in Mumbra where the residents did not have enough time to escape from their building, the structure developed evident cracks, which alerted the residents and they fled, reducing the toll.
