Providing financial medical and community aid to alleviate hardship and distress among Gurkha ex-servicemen of the British Crown
Lilakumari Newar
In 1994, before the establishment of the Trust's medical scheme, Lilakumari Newar fell whilst tending her terraced fields and shattered her leg. With no roads or ambulances to call for help, she had to be carried for three days to the nearest medical post. Her leg was set and she was told to return in 10 weeks.
As the leg failed to heal, she spent the next 13 years in excruciating pain and unable to walk. She could only move by dragging herself and could not leave the house without being carried.
With the instigation of the Trust's medical scheme, Patrol Doctor, Dr Deepak Mall examined Lilakumari and encouraged her to see the Trust's orthopaedic surgeons in Kathmandu. A painful series of operations over the next two years lengthened her shrunken leg and pinned the decade old shattered bone. With no friends or relatives in the capital, Lilakumari lodged at the Area Welfare Centre in Bagmati, Kathmandu throughout her treatment.
In Spring 2009 Lilakumari took her first unaided steps in 15 years. With her leg healed, she has now returned to her home in the hills. She has promised however to visit her adopted family at Bagmati Area Welfare Centre and even challenged the Area Welfare Officer to a 50 yard dash!
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