Chettikulam (SL), June 19: Ten-year-old Rihana has been moving with a bullet embedded near her spine for over a month, since she fled the war between the LTTE rebels and the military in northern Sri Lanka.
Now, the Tamil girl is all set to get the bullet
surgically removed at an Indian hospital here.
Not aware of the presence of the bullet - a memory of the
conflict between the Sri Lankan forces and the Tiger rebels,
the girl had been moving with it in her house at the then
LTTE-controlled Wanni before moving to a camp for the
Internally Displaced People.
She is the centre of attention at the hospital as a team
of doctors prepare to remove the bullet from her body.
"The bullet is embedded in the muscle area between spine
and chest and fortunately has not exploded as it is in the
muscle," chief medical officer of the hospital, Vasant Hari
Kumar said.
Only a few days after the Indian hospital was set up,
Rihana's mother decided to approach the doctors there.
Murmuring to the Indian delegation led by High
Commissioner Alok Prasad and accompanied by media persons
earlier this week, Rihana said she was feeling the pain.
Lying in a special operation room, she said the bullet
hit her while she was outside the house. The incident occurred
on May 15, according to her mother.
In fact timely detection of bullets by the Indian doctors
has drawn praise from patients who have lined up at the
hospital.
Alok Prasad witnessed the x-rays showing the presence of
a sharp bullet. Besides, the bullets taken out from some other
patients, kept in plastic packets were also shown to him.
A 25-year-old IDP lay at the hospital resigned to his
fate following the intense battle, before the LTTE was
defeated. "His leg had a bullet for more than a month and he
was not even aware of it. Had it not been a timely detection,
he would have undergone an amputation. He is lucky that the
bullet has been removed and his leg saved," said a doctor
attending on him.
A lady in a wheel chair was also waiting for treatment of
a shrapnel injury in her legs.
"We have so far treated about 3,500 casualties and are
now attending to about 600 patients every day here," the CMO
told the Indian delegation.
"I highly appreciate the way the hospital staff is
working tirelessly," the Indian High Commissioner told PTI.
It may be recalled that the hospital was earlier based in
Pulmoddai and relocated here this month.
Eight doctors and 54 nursing, para-medical and technical
staff, have been treating patients in Zone-1 of the Manik
Farm, which houses over 45,000 IDPs.
Bureau Report
First Published: Friday, June 19, 2009, 18:16