Eight-year-old Archana Tale's mother was stunned on Tuesday evening when she opened the door of her home to see her daughter stand covered in blood, her left arm missing
Eight-year-old Archana Tale's mother was stunned on Tuesday evening when she opened the door of her home to see her daughter stand covered in blood, her left arm missing. She wasn't crying, and calmly told her how her hand had got trapped in the lift door of a building in Kasarwadavli, Thane, where she attends tuition classes.
Illustration/Uday Mohite
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Tale had run back one kilometre to her home with a severed arm to inform her mother. At the hospital, it was only when the doctors asked about the forearm that the family went looking for it in the building lift. Unfortunately, Tale nerves and veins were seriously damaged, making chances of surgically reattaching it impossible. Tale is a Std IV student of Aadarsha Vidya Mandir, Thane.
'Shoe trapped in lift'
Navit Kharpade, her uncle, said, "Archana had joined the tuition class recently and was happy to attend it. From what she tells us, her footwear got caught in the gap between the lift and the floor. While she was trying to take it out, the lift suddenly started, trapping her left hand."
Kharpade says the family was shocked to see the calm with which she narrated the incident to them. "She was conscious and talking to us as we travelled from Ghodbunder Road to KEM Hospital in Parel, where doctors began her treatment. We realised her arm was missing only after the doctors asked for it. After primary dressing at a nursing home in Thane, we were told she would have to be admitted to a bigger hospital for better treatment. We cannot afford Jupiter Hospital in Thane, so we brought her to KEM," Kharpade said.
Dr Avinash Supe, dean of KEM, said, "Her left hand underwent amputation treatment from above the elbow. The child is in stable condition and is undergoing treatment in the orthopaedic department."
DS Dhole, senior police inspector of Kasarwadavli police station, said, "The incident occurred on Tuesday evening. We asked the family if they wanted to register a complaint but they have refused, saying it looks like it could be child's fault. But, we have sent our officials to KEM to take the girl's statement to eliminate suspicion."
Archana Tale recovering at KEM hospital
Family donates arm
The story doesn't end here. Tale's uncle said the doctors presented them with an option for the cut-off arm. "They said the veins of the arm were damaged beyond repair and hence it could not be reattached, but that the severed limb could help in the treatment of cancer patients, who could use the tendons and bones from it. We will soon be completing the donation formalities," said Navnath Kharpade, a relative.
Tale lives with her mother and 11-year old brother. Mina Tale, her mother, was at her daughter's side as she slipped in and out of consciousness. The family is wondering how they will be able to afford it. "We hope we receive some help. Our neighbours are already talking to a few local leaders," said Navnath.
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