“Last week, we went to the housewarming of one of my friends. My 1-year-old daughter, Payal was playing with other children. Suddenly, I heard people screaming. I ran to my child and found her crying aloud and I could see that she was in pain. My wife, Yamni was lying unconscious next to her. I did not understand what had happened.  Shivers went down my spine when I heard that my baby accidentally swallowed cleaning acid that looked like water. At that very moment I thought I had lost her.”- Jairaj, Payal’s father.

The acid had burnt the baby's food pipe

On the 20th of September, Jairaj was at his friend’s place with his family. After eating some sweets, little Payal felt very thirsty and was crying. Suddenly, to everyone's shock, the little one ingested cleaning acid kept in a bottle similar to a bottle of water. Her food pipe was burnt instantly. 

“We somehow managed to reach the hospital before it was too late. Yet, the poison had damaged her food pipe. I remember the doctor telling me if we were late even by an hour, we could have lost her. My wife was in utter shock for hours. She couldn't come to terms with the unfortunate incident."

Without ventilator support, little Payal might lose her life

The poisonous liquid have burnt the upper part of her food pipe. Little Payal was forced to throw up the liquid. There are burns in her food pipe now. She is on ventilator support with 5 tubes fitted in different parts of her body. Little Payal hasn’t gained consciousness. She needs ICU care to recover completely. 

“My wife has still not recovered from shock. She refuses to eat and she has not slept till now. No words can console her, she feels guilty and she is crying day and night. I wish we could just wake up to believe that all of this was a nightmare.”

An old photograph of payal

Poor parents are struggling to save their baby and they feel completely helpless

Few years ago, Jairaj and Yamni came to Bangalore with the hope of having a better life. While they were staying in West Bengal, most of the days Jairaj couldn't manage to get work and Yamni had no work at all. After coming to Bangalore, Jairaj was working as a helper in a site and Yamni works as a domestic help. They were putting every rupee together to give their daughters a better life. The life that they had built over 2 years fell apart in a split second.

“Both of us earn around Rs 10,000 a month. We struggle to make our ends meet. In the last 8 days, I have almost spent Rs 80,000. I have exhausted all my savings and I borrowed it from my friends also. I don’t know when I'll able to repay them. Now arranging another Rs 8 lakhs is just impossible for me.”

“My daughter is very critical. She is fighting for every breath. I don’t understand what could such a small girl have done to deserve so much pain. It’s so difficult for my wife and me to sit and watch our little girl suffer. We do not have strength to console each other. I just wish that my daughter recovers soon."

How you can help

After accidentally swallowing cleaning liquid, 1-year-old Payal is fighting for her life in the ICU. She is very critical and needs help. Her parents have spent everything they had to save her life. Without your support, this innocent child will lose her life.