Reshma, the young woman rescued nearly 408 hours after the Rana Plaza collapse, is making a quick recovery, confirmed physicians at the Savar Combined Military Hospital (CMH) yesterday.
They said Reshma has started to take in regular food, though it will take some time for her body to return to its normal condition.
Col Md Azizur Rahman of Savar CMH said: “She was tired, stressed, and suffering from dehydration and anaemia. Her kidneys were functioning at less than 45%.
“We provided her with saline, nutrition, oxygen, antibiotic, liquid and semi-solid food. Her kidneys’ functioning rate has climbed to 50% already.”
Md Azizur Rahman said Reshma was suffering from insomnia. She woke up repeatedly, remembering the 16 days she had spent under the rubble. Visitors were restricted as she needed rest and sleep. Journalists weren’t allowed to speak with her either.
At a press briefing at Savar CMH, Azizur Rahman said: “We have formed a seven-member medical board for her treatment. A team of psychiatrists from the National Institute of Mental Health have also seen her today.”
Regarding her physical injuries, he said Reshma had not suffered any serious injuries except for a few scratches. However, due to stress, a metaphoric change has been noticed in her behaviour. She did not seem to be telling the full truth. “She told us that she cut her hair when it got tangled with iron rods while she moved from one place to another through narrow spaces,” he said.
At the press briefing, Maj Gen Chowdhury Hasan Suhrawardy, GOC of the 9th Infantry Division, said: “Reshma was on the second floor when Rana Plaza collapsed, but she rolled down to the first floor, where she was found. She had moved using holes.
“We asked her if she had been with anyone. She said three dead bodies were near her while she was on the second floor. But she was on the first floor when those bodies were recovered,” he said.
According to an army official, Reshma had gotten an opportunity to change clothes.
“There were a few cartons of clothes from where she might have gotten them.”
The question was raised when it was noticed the clothes Reshma was wearing at the time of her rescue looked fresh. The GOC confirmed as much at the briefing.
When asked whether the dress she wore was from one of the garment factories and export-oriented, Hasan Suhrawardy said he was unsure. “I believe she somehow found her co-worker’s dress to wear.”
Reshma also had access to some rotten food, which finished two days before her rescue. In the dark she used her hands and a sixth sense to find food and other things.
As for the availability of water, Hasan Shurawardy said rainwater had entered that portion of the collapsed site, and fire services had also put some water into the holes to douse a fire some days back.
He added: “The place she was trapped in was like a small room. She could move. Some people have said it was a prayer room, but we did not find anything there.”
Meanwhile, Reshma’s relatives visited her at the hospital in the morning. Her brother, Sadekul, said she seemed happy upon seeing them there.
