By Devina Samaroo
A single mother of eight is praying for a miracle after her 8-year-old son was left paralyzed following a motor vehicle accident outside their home at Felicity, Railway Embankment, East Coast Demerara (ECD).
Matthew Zaman cannot speak, or move his hands and legs, and he cannot breathe without the help of a tube in his throat.
He was an active child and a “good gyaff man”, according to his mother Bibi Shanaz Khan.
In December 2017, Matthew met a cruel fate when a minibus struck him down outside their house.
He was feared dead but after one month in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and another at the pediatric ward, Matthew was discharged.
Since the accident, Bibi left her job as a domestic worker to care for her baby boy. It has not been an easy journey but she does not intend on giving up.
“Right now I feel down, but I ask God for the health and strength to give me the faith to look [after] him because of the condition he is in, if I ain’t look he, I don’t have anybody to look [after him],” she wept, with tears streaming down her cheeks.
Bibi said she was saving to send her son to private school since he was bullied every day at a nearby public school and teachers reportedly did nothing about it.
But her savings have been depleted and her son may never get an education. Bibi currently survives off of donations from friends and family.
Her 21-year-old daughter who also has two children of her own helps out a lot.
The child’s father is not in the picture and the minibus driver, who has been charged with dangerous driving, hardly provides any assistance.
But Bibi says she is grateful for everything she gets. What she wants most of all, however, is for her son to feel better.
Ideally, she wants her son to be able to talk again and regain some amount of mobility so she can return to work to earn her income to take care of her family.
Persons desirous of reaching out to the family can call 659-6766.
