Questions and outrage as two-year old undergoes brain op after crèche fall

Parents of children at a Durban crèche are demanding answers after a two-year-old girl suffered a brain injury when she allegedly fell off a balcony.

The concerned parents gathered outside Honey Bunch Day Care in Chatsworth on Monday as Aariya Sewnarain remained in hospital after surgery for an extradural hematoma — an accumulation of blood between the skull and the outer membrane protecting the brain.

Her mother, Shivana Sewnarain, told TimesLIVE Premium the fall occurred on Thursday. 

“As I was on the way to fetch my baby from crèche, I get a call from the school principal notifying me Aariya had an accident at school and I should come fetch her. When asked how it happened, I was told she was playing outside with the other kids and she fell. I asked the principal about her injuries. I was just told there was blood. The principal asked me if she should take the baby to the doctor.”

“I said no as I was on my way and from the information they had provided to me it didn’t seem serious. When I arrived to fetch my baby, I saw the right side of her face was heavily gashed, her nose and head were bleeding and she struggled to stay conscious. I took her to my GP, who advised she should be rushed to the hospital as she was vomiting profusely. After the hospital completed tests, it was confirmed my sweet innocent baby had severe head injuries,” she said.

Sewnarain and her husband, who plan to take action against the crèche, said they still do not know what exactly happened.

“When I contacted the principal for the second time as I was on my way there to check the extent of the injury, I was told there was blood, but no proper indication of how critically injured she was. When asked how the incident occurred, I was first told my baby was playing outside with the kids and she fell on the concrete, but still there was no proper indication on how she fell or the details of the injury.”

She said after she received the medical results she called the principal again to find out what happened as the injuries were so extensive.

“She handed the phone to the teacher, who was supposed to be responsible for caring for my baby. The teacher advised me she was taking all the kids outside to play when two other kids started to fight with each other.”

“She went to separate them and at that time my baby went back inside [the way they came] and up the stairs. This wasn't mentioned to me in the first instance. As I was talking to the teacher, the principal took back the phone and told me she was sorry and didn’t know what else to say.”

Sewnarain said her husband went to the crèche on Friday to see where their daughter had fallen.

“He was given a different answer, that she fell in the back of the building. On the way out, he asked the guard if he had seen the baby fall as he was stationed right at the entrance of the crèche, he said he didn't.”

She said the parents protested on Monday because they deserved answers.

“The parents who have kids in the crèche want proper answers as to how my baby fell. The crèche failed to provide us with the correct details despite being fully aware of what occurred and has continued to lie to us every single time we asked for information.”

Sewnarain said their world was falling apart “seeing our beautiful princess so severely hurt”.

“She is lying in a hospital helplessly, barely able to move. My heart shattered into a million pieces, seeing my beautiful baby in so much pain and trauma. We helplessly had to watch a baby suffer in so much pain and agony.”

“As working parents, we put our faith in others to care for our kids while we aren't there. And that's exactly what myself and my husband have done. We sent a happy, energetic, healthy baby with the intention they will maintain that and watch over her. We didn't expect that they would return her to us so critically injured, endangering her life.”

The mother said when they enrolled her daughter at the crèche they were told the stairs were blocked and were therefore not accessible to the children.

Honey Bunch Day Care could not be reached for comment.