Musa stirs slightly while under treatment in Singapore for head injuries

“Musa, Musa, raise your leg” -- it is hard to tell if the child understood what the physician was saying. There was no glimmer of understanding in his eyes.

However, the boy’s left leg twitched slightly. A spasm of pain seemed to cross his face for a second. The physician’s hand touched Musa’s and the child curled his hand up into a fist. A broad smile lit up the physician’s face.

Seven-year-old Musa was hit in the head by a bullet in front of his house during the movement of Student’s Against Discrimination. He is now undergoing treatment at the National University Hospital in Singapore. This scene was caught in a video recording last Wednesday at the hospital.

Musa is the youngest child to receive bullet wounds during this movement.

Prothom Alo published several reports about Musa. The first report appeared on 28 July. Another report appeared on 7 October about physician’s recommending that he be taken to Singapore. After the report, on 22 October the government sent Musa to Singapore for medical treatment.

Basit Khan Musa is the only child of the couple Mustafizur Rahman and Nishamoni. The family lives near Meradia Hat in Rampura of the capital. Musa’s father and grandfather run an electronics shop in Malibagh.

On 19 July, Musa and his grandmother Maya Islam, 60, came downstairs from their house in Meradia Hat to buy ice cream, when both of them were hit by bullets. Maya Islam succumbed to her wounds and died the next day.

Musa, wounded by bullets, was first taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital and admitted to the Intensive Care Unit there. On 26 August, he was transferred to the neurosurgery department (for adults) at the Combined Military Hospital (CMH). Later, on 4 September, he was transferred to the CMG paediatric neurosurgery department.

Musa was under the treatment of senior neurosurgeon Professor Col. Md Al Amin Salek and Professor Col. Najmul Hamid of the paedriatic neurology department. They advised that Musa be taken to Singapore for further treatment. However, funds for the purpose were uncertain.

After this news was published, Channel-i arranged for an air ambulance to take Musa to Singapore for free. The government contacted the hospital at Singapore and provided funds for Musa’s treatment. Further funds were provided by physicians of Sir Salimullah Medical College’s 20th batch, expatriates and other people.

Musa has been under treatment for over two weeks at the National University Hospital in Singapore. His physical condition has improved slightly. He has been shifted from the intensive care unit (ICU) to the high dependency unit (HDU).

Musa’s mother Nishamoni is with Musa. Speaking to Prothom Alo, she said her son no longer is on life support. He is able to move his hands and feet slightly. He is opening his eyes, but not responding to any light or movement in front of his eyes.

CMH’s Professor Col. Najmul Hamid, speaking to Prothom Alo, said Musa’s physical condition has improved slightly after treatment began in Singapore. When undergoing treatment here, his body had become resistant to antibiotics and the inflection in his blood couldn’t be prevented. His physical condition was deteriorating.

He further said the infection is still there. The physicians in Singapore said that normal antibiotics are not working on Musa. The infection has been brought down by extremely expensive antibiotics that are hardly used anywhere in the world. Musa no longer needs round-the-clock life support. He has recently been moved to HDU from ICU. He is being fed through a tube. His is able to digest the food.

The concerned physicians said that the bullet had entered Musa’s head from the left and came out from the other side. There is no bullet in his head now, but the bullet damaged his brain considerably. The left side of his body is paralysed. Water is forming in his head. This water is being removed temporarily.

Professor Col. Najmul Hamid said the bone in Musa’s head has been shattered. A new bone will be required The physicians are very hopeful about Musa’s recovery. However, this will require long-term treatment.

The Bangladesh and Singapore physicians have started up a WhatsApp group for updates on Musa’s treatment. On Wednesday the Singapore physicians, the CMH physicians, Bangladesh government representatives and student representatives held a Zoom meeting about Musa’s latest condition.

Sources say that the government in the initial stages had deposited money for 50 days for Musa’s treatment. However, the drugs are extremely costly and the deposited funds will end within the next 12 to 15 days.

Member of the health-related central sub-committee formed by the Students Against Discrimination movement, Shahriar Mohammad Yamin, told Prothom Alo that till now Tk 17.5 million (Tk 1 crore 75 lakh) has been deposited. This will finish before the stipulated time. The money for the next stage of treatment is being discussed within the government. Musa is the youngest persons injured in the movement. It is a miracle that he survived. The government is determined that his treatment is not hampered in any way.

Everyone who has spoken to this correspondent about Musa says that as in Bangladesh, in Singapore too the physicians consider Musa is a “wonder boy”. They say his survival is a miracle. They seem him as a “fighter child”, overcoming one surgery after the other. This slightly-built seven-year-old child’s fight has given the physician’s hope for his survival, for his recovery.

Musa’s mother Nishamoni said, it was Prothom Alo that first informed the people about Musa. It was Prothom Alo that highlighted his need for treatment abroad.

She expressed her gratitude to each and every one who came forward for Musa. She believes that with everyone’s prayers and love, her son will recover. One day suddenly Musa will call out “Ma!”