Geeta Boodhoo, 32, the amputee who suffered a broken knee when she was knocked down by a car at Sisters Village, West Bank Demerara is finally preparing for surgery today.
The surgery was scheduled for last Thursday but could not be done because “her body was too weak.”
She had lost her appetite and was not eating properly but her sister, Sharda provided her with healthy food to ensure she got the nourishment her body needed. She was also supposed to receive blood yesterday.
Boodhoo, a mother of five also sustained severe injuries to her abdomen and to her head and is a patient at the West Demerara Regional (WDRH) where she was admitted following the accident on May 16.
She was struck from behind by a speeding motorcar and pitched into a nearby trench around 9 am. At the time, she was taking two of her children; Jonathan Joseph Franklyn, 8, and Varshanie Boodhoo, 10, to the Wales Primary School, where they were expected to start the following day after seeking a transfer.
Fortunately, the children were not injured. The driver, Otis Isaacs, 20, of Albouystown, Georgetown, was slapped with four charges at the Wales Magistrate’s Court. He pleaded guilty and paid a fine for all of the offences.
Isaacs after hitting Boodhoo had crashed into a motorcar, PKK 9855 which was travelling in the opposite direction. As a result, the driver of this vehicle sustained injuries and was also taken to the WDRD.
Boodhoo could not recall exactly what transpired after she was hit by the vehicle, only that she regained consciousness and found herself in the hospital. A few weeks earlier she was also struck down by a motorcycle and suffered bruises.
She was rendered disabled on December 16, 2014 when her former reputed husband, Joshua Franklyn, a cane-harvester who turned 45, the same day of the incident, allegedly attempted to murder her with a cutlass.
During the chopping spree at the Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo home where he had lived with Boodhoo, he allegedly killed her mother, Zalima Khan, 55; her daughter, Ashley, 9; and a friend Floyd Drakes, 30.
Boodhoo who worked as a waitress, sustained severe injuries to her head, neck and shoulder and it was while barring the chops that her hand was severed, just above the wrist and left hanging by the skin.
After a few days of being on the run, Franklyn turned himself in at the Leonora Police Station in the company of his lawyer. He was subsequently charged together with his son Jimmy Franklyn, 20, who had earlier been arrested.
Several surgeries were performed on the wounds, some of which now carry steel but doctors were unable to save her hand.
After she was discharged from hospital. She was living close to her sister’s house at Tuschen but moved some three months ago to a rented apartment in Sisters Village.
Her disability had forced her to turn to a life of begging to support her five children, including two-year-old twin girls: Rohini and Mohini. She would also be given monthly monetary help from an Islamic organization.
She was hurt emotionally that she could not do much for her children and now that she is faced with a further handicap, she is even more worried about their well-being.
When this newspaper visited her at the hospital yesterday, she was still in severe pain and was unable to move.
She requires help with cleaning herself and changing and was thankful that a woman from Sisters Village who is helping to take care of her three older children, was assisting her.
Boodhoo said the woman was unable to go for a few days because of personal constraints and the nurses then assisted. Her two-year-old twins have since been placed in the care of her brother.
She was grateful to Beacon Foundation for providing her with disposable diapers, clothing and other hospital requirements, along with clothing for her children. They also supplied the woman who is taking care of the children with a quantity of groceries.
A businessman from Parika also presented her with a quantity of food items on two occasions. She would also welcome any other form of assistance from the public. She can be contacted on telephone: 648-0998.
