It was a regular morning when 35-year-old Asha Matthew was walking with her 10-month-old daughter, Esther, to her grandmother's house. In a matter of few seconds, the young mother was face-down on the road and the baby flung a few feet away.
The mother's handbag had gotten stuck in the handle of a passing by motorbike, jerking both the mother and baby into the busy street. Having suffered a bad fall herself, the mother witnessed her little girl being run-over by a passing auto rickshaw.
Pedestrians and motorists, who witnessed the accident at Dombivali, helped the mother take her baby to a nearby hospital where baby Esther underwent a full body CT scan. It revealed an isolated chest trauma with accumulation of air and blood around the lungs and blunt trauma to the chest, putting the child in terrible pain; the child also couldn't breathe properly.
Lack of infrastructure and medical expertise led to the child being shifted to Fortis Hospital, Mulund. The child was immediately admitted under the care of Dr. Jesal Sheth, Senior Consultant Pediatric and Neonatal Intensivist at the hospital.
Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) team led by Dr. Sheth began treatment on Esther; she was subsequently put on pain control medications and antibiotics. The child's unstable painful breathing due to underlying lung and chest trauma, was supported by special support via high flow nasal cannula device.
Speaking about the case, Sheth said, "The child was brought in with traumatic shock and was crying profusely as she was in tremendous pain. We immediately put her on pain medications and supported her breathing by a lung support device to stabilize her breathing. The baby responded well and was kept for a few days under observation. She is now discharged and the parents have been advised to follow up for treatment."
Continuing on the nature of such cases and the take home message, Sheth added, "Such cases are definitely unimaginable in nature and one must be aware of their surroundings at all times. We have seen a couple of unfortunate cases and we urge citizens, both pedestrians and motorists to be careful to avoid such incidents.
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