Latest update March 28th, 2024 12:59 AM
May 17, 2010 News
Two-year-old Udesh Ragubar is one of the 11 patients operated on last month when the Caribbean Heart Institute (CHI) undertook its inaugural bout of paediatric open-heart surgery.
He is the only patient of that batch who has not made a full recovery.
But there were no guarantees that the operation would have been the ultimate answer to the ailing child’s dilemma.
The operations, performed at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, were undertaken by a team of medical experts drawn from various reputable facilities in the United States. The team’s assistance was solicited by CHI’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr Gary Stephens, and was headed by Dr Sheel Vatsia, a surgeon from the Long Island Jewish Medical Centre in New York.
Though he had great optimism that most of the patients would recover incident free, Dr Sheel had noted that there was the likelihood that there could have been some challenges in the recovery process, which appear to be evident in Udesh Ragubar’s case.
As a result, a group of overseas and locally based Guyanese have come together and is making a valiant effort to take the two-year-old overseas to seek further treatment.
Ragubar, of Edingburg, East Bank Berbice, like the several other children, had their operations at CHI sponsored by New York- based philanthropist, George Subraj, and a number of other supportive individuals and entities.
The young lad, who was diagnosed with a hole in the heart, blockage of the heart and had an enlarged heart, was thought to be recovering well after the eight-hour operation.
However, reports are that after a mere few weeks of happiness, the child’s condition did not improve.
In an invited comment yesterday, a nurse attached to CHI revealed that all of the parents of the children that underwent the operations were aware of the risks involved.
The worst result that could have obtained she explained was death, adding that none of the children have succumbed. She noted that efforts were made to explain to Ragubar’s parents that it could take a long time for him to recover and that it could take a while for his body to regenerate on its own.
“Not everybody has the knowledge and we don’t expect people would know everything so we have explained to all of the parents of the risks and the process of recovery as well. It may not be the same for every patient. We understand that this period could be very frustrating and difficult for any parent but what is happening to this child is nobody’s fault,” the nurse asserted.
Speaking with Kaieteur News in Berbice, the child’s mother, 28-year-old, Urmilla Luckhoo, who has four other children, said that her son was born a normal child but after nine months developed the heart problem which caused him to develop a breathing problem.
Luckhoo noted that from all appearances her son was recovering well after the operation but noted that she observed that days after the operation his breathing problems returned. She recounted that he was in and out of consciousness for about a week after which it seemed that he had regained full consciousness. However, the worried mother noted that he has since been staring in space and has not responded to anyone. “All he does is cry all the time,” the woman said.
According to her, she was told after the surgery that her son would have had to be on 24 hours supervision, but that was not the case. Luckhoo now claims that she has been informed, unofficially, that her son now has a brain problem.
“I was made to understand his brain is swollen and is damaged. Now they are telling me that I have to remove my son from the hospital because his situation is bad and I have to take him home. What can I do? It’s hard on me already. I have to spend over $5000 a day in medication and other expenses. I have to be in Georgetown for the entire week, to stay with him. I only get to sleep in the chair whenever possible,” the woman said.
She related that she would go home to Berbice at the weekends to tend to her other children at which point her husband, Nandalall Ragubar, a cane harvester, would relieve her at the hospital where Udesh remains a patient.
But all is not lost. On Friday last, Luckhoo revealed that she met with attorney-at-law, Joe Misir, at his office in New Amsterdam Berbice. He contacted some of his associates in the United States to offer further assistance. His associates include George Subraj and Lakeram Persaud, who are both businessmen in the US. Misir is a remigrant with law offices both in Guyana and the US.
At the moment all efforts are being made to have the child taken to a Pediatrics facility in the US for additional treatment. According to Misir, he has already contacted a hospital to which the child will be taken.
He revealed, too, that he has been in contact with the Ministry of Health and the US Embassy to have the child flown out sometime this week.
THIS IDIOT TELLING GUYANA WE HAVE NO SAY IN THE 50% PROFIT SHARING AGREEMENT WE HAVE WITH EXXON.
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