Mom’s tree despair
Falling branch puts boy in coma
ALL 12-year-old Aaryan Joshua of Umbilo wanted for Christmas this year was to have fun with his family.
But a freak accident has put him in an intensive care unit, in a coma.
“He was so looking forward to this holiday season, school had just closed and we had so many plans to go out and do things and just be together,” said his mother, Jayshree Joshua.
A falling tree branch struck Aaryan and his 61-year-old grandmother, Nancy Soobramoney, and now their family watch over them in their hospital beds, anxious for news.
The accident left Soobramoney with a broken femur and bedridden at King Edward Hospital, on a waiting list for an operation.
“My child has a cracked skull, there is bleeding in his brain, it’s also swollen so badly that surgeons had to remove a portion of his skull to allow for the swelling. They said they placed the piece of the skull in his stomach,” Joshua told The Independent on Saturday yesterday.
“We haven’t been able to communicate with him, this has devastated us. My mom, instead of worrying about herself, is worried about Aaryan. My dad and I have been moving between two hospitals every day, trying to be with my son and with my mom,” said Joshua, who is a single mother of three.
Aaryan, who has just completed Grade 6 at Carrington Primary School in Umbilo, was walking home with his grandmother and his two siblings on Sunday after church. On their way home, they walked past the Queensmead Hockey Stadium, near the corner of Umbilo and Hillier roads, when a tree branch fell on Aaryan and his grandmother.
“My other children said there was no cracking noise to alert them to the falling branch. It must have been on its last strands. My children are traumatised. People nearby saw what happened and rushed to them. I was at work when this happened. Our church is nearby and everyone rushed there,” she said.
The week was a nightmare, said Joshua.
“Aaryan has been in and out of scans and operations, and there are still many more tests to be done. I don’t know what the future holds. All I want to do is make sure my son and mom are okay,” said Joshua.
She added that some people at the scene said the city’s parks department had been asked to remove the dangling tree branch.
“I have yet to hear from the city. If that was the case, then their negligence caused my son to land in a coma,” said Joshua, adding that the branch had been placed within the stadium property after the incident. Many onlookers had taken photographs of the pair’s injuries and of the branch.
She said the family would have to reassess their living arrangements to accommodate her son and mother, because living on the 12th floor would prove difficult for moving up and down, especially for medical appointments and in emergencies.
“We will have to look for a caregiver who can tend to my son. Usually my mom would help, but she is also injured. This is a difficult time for us and may be more so, once we leave the hospital,” she said.
Deputy mayor Fawzia Peer said she will liaise with officials on what happened, and local ward councillor Mmabatho Tembe said she would meet Joshua today.
“Officials will be investigating what happened. I cannot say anything further on the details, but we would be meeting with the mom,” she said.
eThekwini Municipality spokesperson Tozi Mthethwa said the parks department had conducted a site visit and found no trees located in the street.
“We cannot establish the actual location or find any evidence of a heavy branch in the street that could be the cause of any alleged injury. The matter was also never reported to the parks department. However, the department will investigate the matter further,” said Mthethwa.
She said the department was working hard to clear uprooted trees and remove stumps after the October 10 storm, and expected this to be completed by the end of the month.
Heather Rorvik, of the Bulwer Community Safety Forum, said they would offer support to the Joshua family.
“She is a single mom who’s been thrown into this situation and we need to support her. It’s not an easy matter to deal with and she will need a helping hand,” she said.
Zain Soosiwala, eThekwini central cluster CPF public relations officer, who put out a call for assistance on behalf of the family, said: “It is heartbreaking to learn of what has happened. We are shocked and saddened that this tragic incident has occurred. Our thoughts and prayers are with the young man and his family.”