Indian-origin student Bandna Bhatti paralysed after tragic fall at UC Berkeley: ‘She faces a difficult…'
A 21-year-old Indian-origin student was left paralysed from the waist down after she fell from a balcony at a fraternity house party at University of California, Berkeley just weeks before graduating.
Bandna Bhatti suffered a devastating fall at a fraternity house party after she slipped from an external staircase at the Phi Kappa Tau house around 1 pm on April 19, according to FOX KTVU.
Bandna was attending a fraternity party on Cal Day, an annual open house for incoming freshmen and their families. She fell at least 12 feet and landed on a narrow passageway outside the frat house while striking her head on the way down.
After the tragic fall, she lay there for 15 minutes before she was found by people and taken inside. Once she was brought it, those who brought him inside were asked to leave the party by her friends, her family claimed. They left and her friends carried Bandna to her apartment without knowing the extent of her internal injuries.
Nobody called emergency services after she fell. Medical professionals came seven hours later when friends finally called 911. In addition to the paralysing spinal fracture, Bhatti also sustained other severe injuries, including a spinal fluid leakage, a scapular fracture, and a brain hematoma.
Devastated by Bandna's injuries, her family reached out for help through a GoFundMe page, seeking $450,000 for her treatment.
'Our beloved sister, Bandna, only 21 years old, was just three weeks away from graduating from UC Berkeley with a degree in Data Science — a milestone she had worked so hard for — when our world was turned upside down,' her sister Sonya Bhatti wrote.
"Bandna is a brilliant, compassionate, and resilient young woman who has worked tirelessly toward her dreams. Now, she faces a long and difficult road ahead, and we are humbly asking our community for help," she said.
Since April 26, the fundraiser has received nearly $100,000 from over 1,200 donations.
According to her LinkedIn page, Bandna was pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Data Science with an emphasis in Business and Industrial Analytics. She was also a member of the university's Sikh Student Association.
The university has offered its support to Bandna. 'UC Berkeley is aware of an ongoing police investigation regarding reports of a student being injured near or at a fraternity. Our thoughts are with the student, their family, loved ones and friends during this time. We are following our protocols to offer support to the student and their family," it said in a statement to PEOPLE.
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