This young girl who was crushed by a concrete slab has been discharged after nearly two months in hospital but she will still have to wait to play with her friends, who she missed during her lengthy hospital stay.
Kemilly Kethelyn Lino da Silva, 8, who is from the community of Papelao, in the neighbourhood of Coque, in the city of Recife, the capital of Brazil’s north-eastern state of Pernambuco, was discharged from hospital on Saturday 4th December.
But she still needs rest and recuperation and even has to be carried from room to room by her family, while at the same time making it clear that she cannot wait for it to be over as she has missed being able to play with her friends while in hospital.
She was crushed on 16th October while participating in a party that was promoted by an NGO to mark Children’s Day. Kemilly and about a hundred other children have been waiting to be given a gift when the concrete slab fell on her while she was standing on the pavement.
Kemilly suffered multiple injuries and spent eight days in the intensive care unit at the Restauracao hospital. She was intubated for five days and after that, she was recovering from various fractures in the hospital were waiting for test results to determine if she had any neurological injuries.
She reportedly still feels a lot of pain in her leg and cannot walk properly, relying on relatives to carry her from room to room.
Kemilly said: “My leg still hurts a lot. I really miss playing, sitting on the floor. Now, I can only play on the sofa.”
The building from which the concrete slab fell is reportedly under the responsibility of the Companhia Brasileira de Trens Urbanos (CBTU). It is unclear if they have offered any compensation to the girl and if the matter is not settled, whether her family are pursuing legal action.
They had earlier asked for financial assistance so that they could afford to visit her in hospital which they said at the time was a request that they were evaluating.
The company subsequently made a food basket and income available to the girl’s family, who also requested psychological support, with the company saying that “in solidarity with what happened, it responded to all requests requested”.
What is known is that the state government has filed a criminal complaint against the CBTU.
Kemilly’s mother, Caroline da Silva, and her father Gari Francisco Lino, whose ages have not been reported, have two other children including a baby, and they took turns looking after their eight-year-old during her time in hospital.
Caroline said: “Now it’s just happiness. Yesterday, the results of the neurological tests arrived. The paediatrician saw it and said that everything was fine, but the neurologist’s opinion was needed.
“When she heard that she was going home, she immediately began to fuss, wanting to leave. It took almost two months. Then I spoke to the head nurse and they managed to locate the doctor, who released her.”
