Durban - The Festival of Lights will not be celebrated this year by the Chetty family of Phoenix in Durban – and it might never be.
This is because their 26-year old daughter, Kershnie Chetty, lost her eyesight on her left eye following a fireworks accident last year.
On Diwali Day, November 1 last year, the Chetty family, like most families world-wide, were celebrating Diwali with the lighting of fireworks.
It was a double celebration as they had just found out that the first grandchild of the family had been conceived.
“We were just so excited because we found out that my sister was pregnant. So I said, ‘Life is short, let’s have some fun’,” said Chetty.
Chetty recalls that she lit a fountain firework and was about one metre away when the fountain toppled over.
“It all happened so fast. The firework was so strong that it dropped me to the floor and then all the sparkles and the hot chemicals from the firework hit me in my eye. I remember I was so shocked that I didn’t even feel the burn.
“When it happened, I was too scared to go to the hospital immediately. I said I would go to the doctor the next day for a check-up. If I only knew I would have gone immediately. I would have had my eyesight. They would have saved some vision. But the next day when I went, the doctor checked my eye and flushed everything. He said the chemicals were still burning it. That is why I have a 360-degree chemical burn. My cornea is burnt. And I have a scar.”
Since then, Chetty has undergone three operations.
“When the accident first happened, I had my op on November 11. They put in a ring to keep my eye open. A few days later I had to go back because the ring had moved. I had my third operation in August this year because my eyelash was growing into my eye, causing more damage.”
Chetty says she is only now coming to terms with the loss of her eyesight.
“I didn’t think I would lose my eyesight. I felt like it would get better. I thought maybe the eye drops and the ointments were making my eye blur. But as time went by the doctor told me that I have a scar in my eye that won’t heal. That hit me. It ruined my whole life. It’s so difficult to see with one eye and focus.
“And right up until my op in August, I was using my eye-patch. I cry every single day. There are days when I can’t eat food. I just become depressed.
“When out in public while I was using my eye patch, people would stop me and ask me questions. That brought my self-confidence so low.”
Robert McKenzie, a spokesperson for the KwaZulu-Natal Emergency Medical Response Unit, said fireworks-related accidents had decreased over the years.
“Ten years ago there would have been quite a few incidents. But in recent times there have not been so many. I think the awareness around fireworks has improved and the safety issues around the usage has increased.
“However, there are still incidents. A lot of the time people do not call the ambulances, they just go straight to the hospital.
“But obviously we need to use caution around the fireworks. Don’t let children use them. Don’t point them at anybody as they are not toys. Also, if you do light a firework and it does not explode, don’t try to pick it up, because often there is a delay,” said McKenzie.
Dr Kapil Moodley who heads the High Care Unit at McCord’s Provincial Eye Hospital in Durban, said Chetty's healing would take months and she would have to undergo multiple surgeries.
“Quite frankly the eye is never going to be the same again.”
He confirmed that the trend over the last 10 years had been a gradual decrease in fireworks injuries over Diwali.
“But over the festive season, especially New Year, a lot of these injuries are coupled with alcohol use as well as children who go unsupervised,” he said.
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