The little girl was cradled in her mother's arms as we brought her into the hospital. I could see that she was badly burned. On examination I determined she must have had at least a 50% BSA full thickness burn. She had been playing in a hut with other children when it caught fire, according to her father she was too scared to run out through the flames and stayed inside. Now she lay there on the examination table, eyes wide open and immobile wrapped in a pagne. We got an IV in and inserted a catheter, clear yellow normal looking urine came out. I was encouraged by this until I realised it was probably the last urine she had made and there would be no more. She lay there repeating the word "Amazi.... Amazi... Amazi." I thought maybe this was someone's name. I thought it sounded beautiful. I asked the nurse beside me what the word was. "Water" he replied.
I held her and she died soon after.
Kinyinya Hospital, Burundi 2005.
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