Durban - A Durban mother is struggling to bring her daughter home from China after she fell from the fifth floor of a building where she was staying.
Two days before she was scheduled to return to her family for the New Year holiday, Deepa Karuna Sooknandan, 19, of Isipingo Rail, is believed to have fallen from the window of her room in a residence at the Dalian Medical University.
The fall caused her to fracture her jaw, her pelvis and an ankle, so there are various contraptions which are holding her hip, ankle and pelvis together.
The first-year medical student has been in a critical condition in a hospital in Dalian, a city close to North Korea, ever since.
Before the incident, Deepa had written on her Facebook page that she was looking forward to returning home for the holidays.
“I can already smell mom’s breyani from here.”
The family said they had no choice but to leave Deepa where she was, as the university had sent her to the hospital.
Her sister, Namitha, has flown to China to be at her side after work colleagues raised funds for her airfare.
“When you register, the university tells you it offers medical insurance but, in her case, they are waiting for the police investigation to conclude before they do anything,” Namitha said.
“She requires surgery, but the hospital has stopped treatment until the bill has been settled,” she said.
“The hospital bills have doubled to more than half a million. We want to bring her to a hospital in Durban and any assistance would be greatly appreciated,” Namitha added.
University spokeswoman, Kitty Guo, informed the family of the incident
, urging them to get an emergency passport, as she said Deepa was in a critical condition.
Deepa’s mother, Annie Sooknandan, is devastated.
Deepa’s brother, Deepak, said his sister was passionate about caring for others.
“My father took ill while she was schooling and she would look after him. He encouraged her to take up the medical profession before he passed on.”
A Facebook page called “Help Deepa Fund” was created Tuesday.
This is the second such incident reported in the Daily News.
In March 2013 Mujahid Desai, 19, a first-year student at Wenzhou Medical College in Zhejiang province, lost his balance. He managed to hold on to the railing briefly, before falling seven storeys. He later died.
Daily News