A few months ago, Rabina left her husband and teenage son at home and spent the whole day travelling to visit her mother in the mountainous district of Sankhuwasabha, eastern Nepal.

While they were preparing breakfast in her mother’s kitchen the next morning, a boulder rolled down the hill above and smashed into the house. Tragically, Rabina’s mother and sister-in-law were instantly killed. Rabina was trapped in the wreckage for an hour before the neighbours managed to rescue her.

The heroic villagers carried Rabina on foot for three hours to reach a helicopter that could transport her to hospital in Kathmandu.

Rabina was seriously injured. She spent two and a half months in hospital having extensive surgeries on her broken ribs and legs. Finally, doctors decided that her left leg could not be saved and had to be amputated.

At this point, she was referred to INF’s Green Pastures Hospital to have a prosthetic leg fitted.

Hope returns at Green Pastures

When Rabina arrived, she was not doing well. She had experienced trauma from the accident, from suddenly losing loved ones, and from losing her leg. She hadn’t had time to grieve properly while undergoing so much medical treatment.

At Green Pastures, the staff gently taught her to use her new prosthetic limb and gave her hope that it would allow her to be mobile and independent again. Perhaps most importantly, she had several psychosocial counselling sessions at Green Pastures, giving her time and space to begin to process everything that had happened.

We have seen Rabina gradually find hope and rediscover her love for life. She expressed great gratitude to the hospital – and those who generously support it – for helping her find the strength to move forward.