Schoolgirl afraid to stand on her flat's third floor balcony

Dubai: Rowna'a Mahmoud, a 12-year-old schoolgirl, is scared to even stand on the balcony of her third floor home and asks that all curtains be drawn at her home.

She is trying to recover from the trauma of a horrific accident that saw her fighting for life for over a week at Umm Al Quwain hospital.

Rowna'a, an Egyptian, was hit by a speeding four-wheel drive while she dashed across the street to board her school bus. The accident left the 12-year-old pupil with multiple fractures to her rib cage and internal bleeding.

Losing consciousness

Over the past two weeks, Rowna'a has lost consciousness often due to her fluctuating haemoglobin level. She has also had to make frequent visits to the hospital.

After staying in the intensive care unit for 10 days, Rowna'a today is slowly recovering. Each time she comes near the spot where the accident occurred, Rowna'a prefers to look the other way.

Her parents are desperately on the look out for a new house. This is because the home they are staying is located just across the accident spot.

According to the mother, Rowna'a cries almost every day and requests her father to be cautious while venturing out with her siblings. "Her biggest fear is that someone will run them over by a car. She is afraid to approach the balcony and asks that the curtains be drawn," the worried mother said.

Rowna'a who sat surrounded by her siblings said she prefers wearing an abaya as she is constantly reminded by her friends in school of how thin she has become.

She weighed 46 kg before the accident and is now just about 28 kg.

Her twin sister Rowda'a and two other siblings Ammar and Batoul make sure that their sister is not left alone and try to bring a smile to her face whenever they see Rowna'a sad.

Rowda'a said there is no time for her to be lazy anymore. "Rowna'a used to do all the cleaning and she also tutored our baby sister. But now I have to do all that," she said.