CBM and partners reach worst affected districts of central and western Nepal

On 12th May I was at CBM partner HRDC (Hospital and Rehabilitation Centre for Disabled Children) to document our response to the first earthquake on April 25, and to record the journey of a child client from an affected district who’s now receiving free treatment. As Tuesday (and Wednesday) are surgical days here, I could find quite a few children who were injured during the quake and were on the list for surgical intervention. With the help of the nurses, I decided to make the story of Denish (who is 4), from Gorkha district, who sustained severe injuries to his right leg. (As their shelter collapsed, both the boy and his mother were buried in the debris. His mother later succumbed to her injuries… the boy was brought in an army hospital to Kathmandu.)

It was around 12 noon, I finished both the tasks and was waiting to have a word with the hospital management about the relief camps in the three CBM supported CBR districts. I had just entered the director’s room when a massive quake, almost of the same intensity as the April 25th, struck Nepal. Unlike the ongoing aftershocks, this one made an unusual noise. With me there were three other members in the room and within seconds all of us were out in the open. The tremors continued for more than 15 seconds…

Chaos

Suddenly, my mind went to four-year-old Denish whose story I had just recorded. Earlier, as I was speaking to Denish’s caretaker, the boy – who was waiting to receive a minor surgery – had fallen asleep in his bed in the medical ward. Before leaving them, I had asked his caretaker Sabina (who is herself only 19) to wait for the nurse’s call to take the boy inside the operation theatre). As I stood there, I don’t know why I thought I should check if Denish is still sleeping the ward. Instinctively, I rushed for the medical ward amidst a crowd of bellowing children and patients. As I ran, I could feel the ground was still shaking… there were patients being pulled out on their stretchers. As I entered the ward, there was no-one inside, little Denish lay there in his bed, oblivious of what was happening outside. I quickly picked him up and rushed outside. After a brief look at the chaos around, Denish went back to sleep in his caretaker’s arms…

By then, the four patients inside the operation theatre had also been evacuated. They were somehow rolled out by the nurses, with drip still inserted in their hand. Their caretakers came crying and screaming as their wards were brought out of the theatre. Mothers hugged their children and cried as they tried to wake them up. Fortunately, there was no patient with a major surgery during the time of the earthquake. As the crowd settled, there was yet another massive aftershock and the hospital immersed in a roar of cries and prayers. I had never experienced something like this before…

HRDC staff brought the tents that CBM had provided as relief materials. The staff team pitched 10 of them, one after the other, in the open spaces within the hospital premises. Soon, all 72 patients and their caretakers were accommodated and given refreshment. Nurses attended to those who were still on intravenous drip and counselled the parents not to worry about anything. Gradually, mats were taken out of the medical and rehab wards to make preparations for all children and caretakers to sleep in the tents at night. Soon, a decision was taken to cancel all surgeries scheduled for the next day.

At 5 pm, a pall of silence descended on the hospital. As I left, I was reminded of how a fresh quake rattled the country that day. However, after the first earthquake and a series of aftershocks, we had gathered requisite resources and were better prepared to deal with the situation… I hope we continue to exhibit the same spirit and preparedness for future quakes.

Further reading from Ashok Shah, from the first Earthquake in Nepal

Two hours later, we are at Sipaghat, a village of about 1000-odd population, situated on the bank of Indravati river. All along, I can see mud houses reduced to rubble, with pieces of broken windows and doors strewn around. Sometimes, the areas smelled of decayed flesh. The devastation caused by the quake is much more than I could imagine. People here are in dire need of relief services.

Soon after, as we park the bus in the village and begin to take the tarps out, a huge crowd gathers to know if we have brought relief supplies for distribution. However, they are equally relieved to know we have come to provide free medical care for those who suffered injuries during the earthquake. While we are just setting up the venue and opening the supply boxes, three severely injured victims have already been brought to the camp.

The first client is Deepa, a young woman with a spinal injury and an arm fracture. She has been carried from a village across the river on a makeshift stretcher, waiting for medical attention since last Saturday.
“I thought I had managed to leave the house when the roof came crushing down on me. I fell on the ground, unconscious… Later, my mother came to pull me out of the debris…” recounts Deepa with a heavy voice. “I have been waiting for medical care since then….” she adds as tears run down her face.

Her house has collapsed completely and she had to stay in a tent with all her injuries for the last six days. The earthquake triggered landslides which cut off the only way to her village. It was only on Thursday, April 30th, a rescue team managed to land a helicopter in the village and provided her a spinal belt to hold the backbone in position. At the camp, the doctors decide to transfer Deepa in an ambulance to a hospital in Kathmandu, where she will be given free treatment.

As the medical team continues to attend to clients at the venue, the HRDC bus is sent out to bring more patients from the nearby villages. There isn’t a moment the medical and support staff can have rest as more and more clients keep coming in. There are patients of all age groups, with broken arms and ribs, severe head and spinal injuries, and many with deep cuts to their heads and other body parts. With minimum surgical equipment, the doctors are also able to suture cuts and wounds – relieving the victims of the burden of travelling to the nearest hospital. There are also people suffering from diarrhea, fever, cold and other communicable diseases. All of these clients are given free medicines – and a relief pack comprising of biscuits and energy drinks, which the support staff have tirelessly packed the previous night.
 
By the end of the day, a total of 133 clients from 10 neighbouring villages have been treated at the relief camp, including 13 severe cases who are transported to Kathmandu in an HRDC ambulance. Also, five children with broken limbs, who were provided plaster casts, have been asked to come to HRDC for a follow-up after a week. And just like the camp, they would be treated there free of charge.

“I’m so happy that we could serve as many as 133 cases today, who would otherwise have been left in the lurch. I’m very thankful to all the support staff and volunteers who went out to bring patients from the nearby villages…” says Dr Bibek Banskota, medical director at HRDC. “I believe there are more people injured by the earthquake and are waiting for medical services… I think we need to plan more relief camps in this district.”

It’s 6 pm, and the sun is coming down slowly on the hills of Sindhupalchowk. A district that is barely 100 kilometres from Kathmandu had to bear the burnt of the violent earthquake. Nonetheless, with a caring organization like HRDC in the neighbourhood, there is definitely some hope for the affected communities. All in all, it was an immensely fulfilling day… although I’m exhausted and ready to drop, I’m happy that I could do my bit to support fellow humans in need.

-Ashok Shah, in Nepal, Sunday 3rd May, 2015

CBM- supported partners has reached out and treated those affected. 

HRDC outreach camps have reached 3065 people. All were assessed and received day snacks / food packs. Where relevant, they received medicine, assistant devices, transportation and dressing/wound care and physiotherapy. 69 people have been referred to HRDC, B&B Hospital and other hospitals. 

TLM - 35 people have received major surgery and 50 have received other medical interventions

KOSHISH - 39 people (including 23 with disabilities) have received treatment for immediate psycho-social needs and a further 73 have been assessed. 

 INF - 9 people have received hospital rehabilitation, including physiotherapy and psycho-social counselling. 6 of these received assistant devices.