When their 9-year-old girl fell down and broke her arm, Vinod and Praseedha, a couple from Palakkad, were least prepared for what was going to hit them. In a matter of a few days, they saw their daughter Vinodhini’s right arm being cut off.
They used to look at her fondly as she drew pictures, wrote legibly and swirled her arms when she danced to her favourite tunes, not anymore. The couple, who survives on daily wages, doesn’t know what to tell her when she keeps asking for her right hand. They try to look away when Vinodhini breaks into tears.

They watch her helplessly as Vinodhini lies in the ICU of Kozhikode Medical College Hospital, her arm amputated following what they allege was medical negligence.

The little girl often asks, “Where is my arm?”
“We don’t know what to say. She doesn’t have the strength to bear this. She wasn’t given any counselling before or after the surgery,” Praseedha says.

Vinodhini, a class 4 student at ALPS Pallassana, fell in front of her house on September 24 while playing with her younger siblings. “The ground was slippery with algae after a spell of rain,” recalls her father, a daily wage worker. “She cried in pain, and we rushed her to the nearby Taluk hospital, which referred us to Palakkad District Hospital since it didn’t have adequate facilities.”

An X-ray at the district hospital revealed fractures in two bones of her right arm, just below the elbow. Doctors applied a plaster after confirming blood circulation was normal. She was discharged with instructions to return to the OPD the next morning. But along with the fracture, there was also a small wound — a coin-sized injury that the family claims was ignored.

“We told them about the wound, but they didn’t pay attention,” says Praseedha. “The next day, we went again because she was crying in pain. The doctors said it was due to the fracture and gave some tablets. We even begged for an injection for relief, but they said it wasn’t necessary. They asked us to come for review on October 4.”

Over the next few days, her condition worsened. The swelling increased, the colour of her hand changed, and a foul smell began to spread from under the plaster. Alarmed, her parents rushed her back to the hospital on October 2. When the plaster was cut open, her hand had turned dark due to lack of blood circulation.

A Doppler scan revealed a blood clot blocking blood flow to the hand. According to the officials, doctors administered a heparin injection and referred her to Kozhikode Medical College for specialised treatment.

“There were two doctors there at the time. We didn’t know their names,” Vinod recalls. “I asked if her condition happened because they applied the plaster without properly treating the wound. They had no answer — their heads were down, silent, with nothing to say, almost as if in apology,” he adds.

“We were told to take her to a private hospital in Thrissur, where treatment could cost around ₹25 lakh,” says Vinod. “We couldn’t afford that. So, I arranged an ambulance and took her to Kozhikode myself. Its not like what the authorities explained.”

At Kozhikode, the doctors told the family that the damage was irreversible. Her right forearm was amputated to save her life. “They said the wound had become septic because it wasn’t treated properly at the district hospital,” says Omana, Vinodhini’s grandmother, in her complaint filed with the Palakkad District Medical Officer.

Vinodhini underwent another surgery on Tuesday to prevent infection. “She used that hand for everything — eating, writing, drawing. Now she has to learn everything from the beginning,” says Vinod. “We don’t even know how we’ll manage the treatment costs, but we have to keep going.”

The family lives in a small hut covered with tarpaulin sheets, on a small piece of land provided by the government. “They belong to a Scheduled Caste community and have no facilities at home,” says Ambujakshan, the Pallasana panchayat member. “They work in paddy fields and take up daily wage jobs to survive. We are trying to help them and will also move legally.”

Following widespread outrage and media attention, the state health department suspended two doctors of Palakkad District Hospital — Junior Resident Dr Mustafa and Junior Consultant Dr Sarfaraz — pending further inquiry under the Kerala Civil Services (CCA) Rules. The suspension came despite the hospital’s claim that there was no negligence.

The Kerala Government Medical Officers’ Association (KGMOA) strongly opposed the action, calling it an attempt to appease public anger. “It was an extremely rare and unfortunate complication,” the association said in a statement, adding that all possible care was given. The association observed a Black Day and launched a non-cooperation strike on Wednesday in protest. It has also decided to extend the agitation with an OPD boycott in government hospitals across Palakkad.

“It’s because of their carelessness she’s suffering like this. The suspension of two doctors isn’t enough — they should be removed from service,” says Praseedha.

Meanwhile, in the ICU, Vinodhini’s world has changed forever. Her parents wait outside, allowed in only for brief visits. “She keeps asking for her favourite foods,” says Vinod. “That’s all we can do now — bring her something she likes, and hope it makes her smile again.”
Vinodhini has two younger brothers, Anurag (4) and Aravind (5).