Distressed: Helpless burn victim awaits relief

Seeks assistance from govt and donor organisations for treatment.

HARIPUR:

There is no option for Munsif Bibi but to wait patiently till help arrives. The 41-year-old woman who suffers from epilepsy was preparing bread for her family using a tandoor last week, when she had fits. As a result, her feet hit the tandoor and got badly burnt. A part of her thatched single-room house was also damaged in the accident.

Instead of taking her to the hospital, her relatives used some home-based remedies to provide relief. However, when her wounds got infected, her nephew Zulfiqar took her to a government hospital but had to bring her back due to lack of treatment options.

Doctors say her surgery would cost at least Rs300,000, which the family cannot afford within their limited resources, Zulfiqar told The Express Tribune on Monday.

Bibi began working as a maid in different houses in her native Golia Mera village after her husband Fazal Rehman, a labourer, became mentally ill some two decades back. Despite being diagnosed with epilepsy, she kept on working without caring about her treatment.

To end her plight, she has sought assistance from government and donor organisations. “What else can I do but pray for someone to support me. Death seems to be the only other way out of my troubles,” she said.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 4^th, 2012.