Nidhi Chaphekar, the Jet Airways crew member who suffered serious injuries in the Brussels terror attack, is excited about returning to her family, said her sister Anita Toor. “Treatment was secondary for her. She wanted to come back soon. Her medical papers were sent to doctors here. We got her after doctors assured us that her treatment can be done here,” Toor, who was with Nidhi at Grande Hospital de Charleroi in Belgium for a month, said. The Lokhandwala resident, who also returned on Friday, refused to divulge any further details, saying, “It will be better to get the account from her.”
Nidhi’s mother Shushil Khurana flew down from Amritsar and a sister from Delhi to meet her. Her father could not travel to Mumbai due to severe arthritis.
“My husband said it is like Nidhi’s rebirth. When they met her for the first time in March, she was covered in bandage from top to bottom. What we saw today was much more relieving. Her burn injuries have healed completely. She looked happy and cheerful. Only the foot injury needs to be attended to now,” said Nidhi’s sister-in-law Madhuri. The family chatted up for almost an hour at the Andheri hotel after which Nidhi was taken to Breach Candy Hospital in an ambulance.
An official from the Indian embassy in Belgium said Nidhi got permission to travel back to India on Tuesday
Of the Jet Airways crew operating out of the Brussels airport on the morning of the blasts, Nidhi and Amit Motwani had sustained injuries. Motwani will be undergoing an eye surgery next week after which he may also return to Mumbai, said an embassy official.
Nidhi may need to undergo an ENT surgery, sources at Breach Candy Hospital said. They added that she was doing well and was unlikely to require any further surgery for burns. “She has a foot injury that may take some time to heal, but her burn injuries have healed well,” a source said. The mother of two has already undergone several procedures in Brussels. Sources said she is interacting well. “She has made good progress on the psychological front too.”
Meanwhile, Jet Airways said it continued to provide all the necessary support to Nidhi and her family. “Our priority is to ensure that she continues to receive the best medical care and attention so that she can resume her normal life at the earliest possible,” an official statement released by the airline said.