Kathmandu, August 28
Five-year-old Ishara Tamang lies quietly in a bed at the Paediatric Surgery Ward of Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital.
Her eyes remain closed for much of the time. A soft cervical collar supports her neck, medical equipment is attached to her body, and a cannula has been placed in her left hand. Bruises are visible on her face.
The fear of the flood has not yet left her.
At times, she opens her eyes and looks around before falling silent again.
But there is no family member beside her. Neither her mother nor father is there. Hospital staff are giving her medicine, feeding her, arranging her clothes and checking on her condition.
Ishara was rescued from the floodwaters in Khalte, Rasuwa, after she became trapped in a net. She was brought to Teaching Hospital on Wednesday and initially treated in the emergency department’s red zone. She is now receiving treatment in the Paediatric Surgery Ward.
At five, Ishara was too young to fully understand what a flood was. Yet she has experienced a disaster that has left both physical and emotional wounds.
She lost hold of her mother’s hand, was swept away by the current and survived after becoming trapped in a net.
Her physical injuries are being treated. But the questions that remain are harder to answer: Where is her mother? Where is her father? When will her family come to take her home?
When Ishara was brought to the hospital after being rescued, her condition was not normal. She remains psychologically affected by the trauma of the flood.
Dr Bivek Gurung, who is involved in her treatment, told Onlinekhabar that Ishara has not yet fully regained consciousness. However, as soon as she opened her eyes, she was able to give her name: Ishara Tamang.
That was how her identity was established.
Gradually, she began telling medical staff that she was from Rasuwa and had been with her mother when the flood struck. Her account, given in the language of a five-year-old, has also moved those involved in her treatment.
According to what she told them, Ishara was with her mother when the sudden flood swept her mother away. Ishara was also caught in the current. She tried to move forward using her hands but eventually became trapped in a net, where she was rescued.
“Mom was swept away. I jumped and moved forward, then got trapped in the net,” she said after regaining consciousness.
Those few words contain the story of the disaster she experienced. Doctors used the information to prepare her medical records.
‘For now, the health workers are her family’
At the Paediatric Surgery Ward, hospital staff are not only treating Ishara but also looking after her.
With no family member having made contact, doctors and other staff are caring for her as they would for a member of their own family.
They are providing more than medicine and treatment. They have arranged clothes, food and other necessities for her and continue to monitor her condition.
For hospital attendant Pavitra Magar, Ishara is not just another patient. With no family beside her, Magar says she is caring for the child as if she were her own.
“For now, the health workers are her family. From the doctors to all the staff, we are paying extra attention to her. We keep checking whether she needs anything and how her health is,” Magar said.
“No one from her family has been in contact. We don’t know whether someone will come looking for her. So, for now, we are doing our best to care for her like our own child.”
When Ishara was brought to the hospital, she did not even have clothes to wear. Most of her belongings had been swept away by the flood.
Hospital staff arranged clothes for her and took care of her food and other necessities.
A small gold earring
During her treatment, staff found a small gold earring in Ishara’s ear. It may be one of the few remaining belongings that could help identify her family.
Magar said the earring was noticed while Ishara was undergoing a CT scan.
“She had a gold earring in her ear when she was taken for a CT scan. I have handed it to the ward in-charge for safekeeping,” Magar said.
“Her family has not yet been identified, so her belongings also need to be kept safe.”
With no certainty about where Ishara’s family is or whether they are safe, ensuring her security and care has become as important as treating her injuries.
Search operations are continuing for people missing in the floods. Relatives are arriving at hospitals looking for their loved ones, while some survivors are receiving treatment for their injuries.
Ishara’s situation is different.
She is in a hospital, but the whereabouts of the people who should be looking for her remain unknown.
Father being searched for through Facebook
Efforts are now underway to locate Ishara’s father, including through social media.
A Facebook account under the name Chhiring Lama has appealed for help in finding her father. Ishara has told hospital staff that her father is in Kathmandu.
According to the Facebook post, Ishara is a student at Shree Ramchandra Secondary School in Satbise, Uttargaya Rural Municipality-1, Rasuwa.
Onlinekhabar also attempted to contact the school after learning about Ishara. However, it has so far been unable to establish direct contact with anyone at the school.
