Appeal for funds

My four-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Ushta, accidentally fell into a large vessel containing boiling milk in a shop near our residence where we had gone to drink lassi on July 3, 2007. Severely burnt, she was immediately rushed to Masina Hospital in Byculla for treatment of over 65 percent burns. She is under the treatment of burns specialist and plastic surgeon Dr S. M. Keswani, child specialist Dr Shirin H. Mullan and pediatric surgeon Dr Rakesh Shah.

While other parts of her body are slowly healing, the wounds on her back and buttocks, which bore the major brunt of the burns, are deep and painful to her and have not healed and closed. We have already spent nearly four lakh rupees toward doctors’ fees, hospitalization expenses and costly medicines, and the amount may go up to Rs 18 lakhs as she would require continuous treatment in the hospital for at least another two months, as well as skin grafting, physiotherapy, etc.

We, therefore, appeal to various charitable trusts and kind-hearted individuals to contribute their mite, big or small, which will be gratefully appreciated. Please pray for Ushta’s speedy recovery.

Visitors are strictly prohibited from seeing Ushta as she requires total isolation. For most of the time, my wife and I are at Masina Hospital. For any enquiry please contact me on my mobile 9920982122. My address is: 2, Harbour View, Mazagaon, Bombay 400010.

ZARIR A. CONFECTIONER