First Her Children, Then Her Injury

​Navya is a 26-year-old mother of four who is the sole income earner for her family. Her job is going door to door to collect old cotton clothes in exchange for steel pots, plates, or cups. She then sells the cotton clothes to truck drivers who use the cloth for mechanical oil clean up. She earns $2-$3 a day and walks about 5 km daily.

Navya came to a Save Kids Trust (SKT) street clinic regarding the health of her year-old daughter. The examination showed she and her siblings are severely malnourished. Save Kids Trust will help the family with dry food rations and education on healthy eating to help them immediately.

After Navya received instruction for her children, she mentioned her own problem. One year ago, her foot was severely damaged in a traffic accident when an auto rickshaw rolled onto it. The local government hospital did some surgeries, but it has not healed properly. Her foot has an internal infection, is very swollen, and is starting to turn black.  Her foot and leg are in trouble.
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Through the doctors’ connections at SKT, we were able to fast track evaluations with 4 doctors. One doctor said he would be willing to try to save the foot (and leg) but gives it a 50-50 chance; the other 3 recommended amputation.

Update November 22, 2022. Two of Navya’s children are sick with seasonal colds, and she is hesitant to have the surgery now. Her fear also includes who will take care of the children while she is in the hospital and who will provide for her family, and help her, during the three months of healing she will need. (For a related story about healing wounds in the slums, see our story dated 9/25/2022 Daily Wage Earner Workplace Injury.)