“I want to go home.” This was a request made by college student Rajib Hossain, when he last spoke to his uncle, Jahidul Islam, around 9:30pm on Monday.

Rajib, who lost his right hand in a road accident in the city on April 4, then took a sip of fruit juice and went to sleep. Around 2:00am yesterday, Rajib, for the first time since the accident had bowel movements, a sign of his health improving.

Feeling less tense, Khadiza Begum, Rajib's aunt, who was with him at the intensive care unit (ICU) of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), closed her eyes for merely an hour, but suddenly woke up to find an oxygen mask placed on Rajib's face.

“I was stunned and asked the nurses. They informed that they put the mask on, as Rajib suddenly began having breathing problems,” Khadiza told The Daily Star.

Since then, the nurses and doctors have tried to solve his respiratory distress, but the situation has not improved, she said, adding that around 5:00am the doctors informed them of Rajib's deteriorating condition and that he has been kept on life support.

Speaking to reporters at his office at DMCH regarding Rajib's health updates, Prof MS Zaman Shaheen, head of the DMCH Orthopedic Department and chief of a 7-member medical board, yesterday afternoon, while trying to hide his tears, said Rajib was put on life support around 4:00am as his condition had gotten worse.

“We had to put Rajib on life support as his neurological condition deteriorated due to the head injury and his breathing problem has increased,” he said.

Dr Zaman said, “Rajib got up from the bed by himself even on Monday, and I told him to take his food timely. I said to him, 'Help us, we are also trying to help you by installing an artificial hand and we already started our work for it.'”

“I did not even believe it when the ICU duty doctors informed me that Rajib has been kept on life support,” he said. 

Rajib's Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) level is now at 3, which is a critical stage for a human being to survive but they are trying their best, said Dr Zaman.

The GCS is the most common scoring system used to describe the level of consciousness in a person following a traumatic brain injury.

His severed hand is stuck between two buses. File Photo

A patient is assessed against the criteria of the scale, and a healthy person's GSC level is generally between 14 and 15, said Dr Zaman.

At the DMCH compound yesterday, this correspondent found three of Rajib's aunts at the main gate of ICU, one of them was unconscious.

Khadiza said her elder sister, Jahanara Begum, fell sick after hearing the news about Rajib's health.

“We never thought Rajib's condition could get worse. The doctors were supposed to transfer him to general bed today (Tuesday),” she said.

She further asked for prayers to the Almighty for Rajib's condition to improve, especially after the doctor's informed them that Rajib's condition is much too critical.

Earlier on April 4, Rajib Hasan, a 2nd year student of Govt Titumir College, was on his way to class on a double-decker bus of Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BTRC). He was standing at the rear gate of the bus, dangling his right hand outside, as the bus was overcrowded.

When the bus was standing at the Sonargaon crossing near Panthakunja park, a 'Sajan Paribahan' bus tried to make its way through the narrow space between the BRTC bus and the footpath. However, Rajib's right hand got between the two buses and was severed from the elbow.

After being rescued, he was taken to Samorita Hospital at Panthapath, and was later shifted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of DMCH.