Indonesians injured by quake face uncertain future

YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia, June 10 (Reuters) Wahyuni rushed out of her home as soon as she felt the tremors from the deadly earthquake that struck the island of Java.

But as she ran, one of the house walls came crashing down on her, breaking her hip and leaving her helplessly immobile in the debris in Bantul, the area worst hit by the May 27 disaster.

The 19-year-old is now in hospital in a metal cast and doctors say she will need a wheelchair when she's discharged.

''My house was totally destroyed. I dread going back to the tent. i am not sure about my future,'' said Wahyuni, who has been in a privately run hospital in Yogyakarta since then.

Wahyuni is not alone.

Doctors say dozens of earthquake survivors with crushed limbs, spinal injuries and other orthopaedic problems face an uncertain and difficult future in makeshift shelters and tents following the destruction of their homes.

The powerful earthquake that rocked the ancient Javanese royal capital of Yogyakarta and nearby areas two weeks ago killed more than 5,700 people and left tens of thousands homeless.

Most of them now live in makeshift tents, with no fans and little lighting. Many are poor labourers and farmers with little money to buy food or other essential supplies.

Doctor Bambang Kisworo examines his recovering orthopaedic patients and says some will have to be discharged soon although they will have to stay in wheelchairs for weeks.

But with no proper home to return to, the prospects of little or no post-surgery care, and in most cases, no money to buy a wheelchair or food, many of his patients want to stay longer.

The plight of some of the injured was exacerbated by the difficulty rescuers had in reaching survivors in remote areas.

Doctors at a hospital in Bantul even had to amputate fingers and limbs of patients who had gangrene, witnesses said.

''So many of them need wheelchairs. We will try to get them from donors,'' said Kisworo, the sole orthopaedic surgeon at Yogyakarta's private Panti Rapih Hospital.

The government will pick up the tab, a hospital worker said.

Kisworo, 40, is reeling with fatigue after 14 straight days of performing and overseeing 300 surgical operations.

An international team of doctors including Australians and Russians has now arrived to back up local medical staff.

At its peak, Kisworo's hospital was treating some 500 earthquake victims needing orthopaedic treatment. The number is now down to about half that.

''She broke both legs and may have to use a wheelchair for at least two months,'' Kisworo said, pointing to an elderly woman.

One teenager, whose left leg became gangrenous, said she was happy with the treatment.

''I was in the church when the thing happened,'' said 18-year-old Purnawandari. ''I hope I can prolong my stay here.'' REUTERS KD RK1230