Dubai acid-attack mom fights on for 10-month old baby

It’s been nearly two weeks since Sri Lankan Nilakshi Priyadarshana’s life came to a grinding halt. The 22-year-old suffered third-degree burns when a drain acid bottle that was placed on top of the fridge accidentally fell on her. She has already undergone two skin grafting surgeries and is scheduled for one more this week. Her husband is unsure of how many more surgeries she will require for complete recovery. However, she is determined to fight it out and recover at the earliest for their 10-month-old baby. The incident occurred on April 21, when Nilakshi was cleaning the kitchen, while her husband, Prasad, was playing with their 10-month-old in the corridor of their one-bed Karama apartment. “I heard her screams and rushed inside to see her crying in pain. Her head, face, chest and left hand were severely burnt… even her T-shirt was burnt,” he recalled. According to Roshini, project manager at Karama Kanteen, that’s part of Volunteer in Dubai, Prasad too suffered minor burns while trying to hold her during the trip to Rashid Hospital. “I did spot burns on his arms and he told me that even his clothes got burnt,” she added. The acid bottle, which the couple had purchased to declog their kitchen drain six months ago, was initially placed in the balcony, but was shifted to the fridge top so that their baby couldn’t access it. “The baby had some eye infection and the parents were asked to expose the child to sun light as part of the treatment. This is why they moved the bottle out of the balcony,” explained Roshini. Although the paramedics arrived on the scene, within minutes after Prasad made the emergency call, Nilakshi’s skin was severely damaged by the time she was admitted to the burns unit in Rashid hospital. Prasad, who works as an office boy on a monthly pay of Dh4,000, doesn’t have medical insurance to support her treatment and is struggling to gather funds to pay the room charges of Dh 150 per day, surgeries, doctors’ fee and medicines. Nilakshi has already undergone two skin grafting surgeries and is scheduled for one more this week. Prasad, however, has not been handed any bill till now. “The hospital staff said the bill will be ready after the treatment,” he said, adding he’s unsure about how many more surgeries will be needed for her complete recovery.  He added that there’s also need for plastic surgery, but Prasad isn’t focusing on that just yet. “I just want to her to be treated for the burns so that she can return home to our baby, who she was nursing until then,” he said. Prasad’s mother has come in from Sri Lanka to help them, as Nilakshi lost both her parents to cancer. Despite being bandaged up and unable to speak, Roshini claimed that Nilakshi’s spirit remained undamaged. “She is determined to fight back and come out of this ordeal for the sake of her baby,” she reported.