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Four-year-old’s death at GPHC…PM reveals cause as Pulmonary Embolism
– Vigil planned for this evening outside hospital
The family of four-year-old Jaden Mars, who died at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) early Tuesday morning, is bent on getting justice for his unexpected demise.
Dead: Jaden Mars
This publication understands there are plans apace to ensure that “no stone is left unturned” in this quest, which could even extend to a call for the implementation of a law to ensure that “healthy children are not admitted to hospital and end up in a mortuary.”
A post mortem (PM) examination on Wednesday revealed that the child died from Pulmonary Embolism, commonly referred to as PE. PE is a blockage of the main artery of the lung or one of its branches by a substance that has travelled from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream.
The PM also revealed that there was no prior damage to any of the child’s internal organs.
The young Mars was on Wednesday of last week admitted to the GPHC to have his tongue sutured. His tongue was split as a result of an accidental fall which saw him hitting his chin on a five-gallon bucket.
His grandmother, Nancy Gittens, rushed him to the East La Pentience Health Centre where his mouth was washed and medical personnel there were able to halt the bleeding before referring him to the GPHC to facilitate stitching of the tongue.
His condition at the hospital was not deemed an emergency. But in order to suture the wound at the public hospital, a doctor had administered two separate 25 milligram doses of Ketamine to sedate the lad. However, the medicine appeared not potent enough, as the child did not fall asleep as expected. This resulted in the child being sent to the theatre for the required medical care.
However, after being attended to in the theatre, medical officials informed the child’s mother, Natalie Caseley, that his heart had “crashed” and he remained hospitalised in the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital until Tuesday when he passed away.
There are some reports that the child died from an overdose of the anaesthetic drug. According to medical experts, an overdose of Ketamine can cause, among other things, increased heart rate, a rapidly or forcefully beating heart, high blood pressure (hypertension), seizures or even respiratory arrest (stopped breathing).
According to Caseley, the initial attending doctor had informed her that since she (the doctor) had already administered 50 milligrams of Ketamine to Mars, she could not administer any more due to his age and his weight (19 kilograms). She had disclosed that the child would be administered “controlled medication” in the theatre so that his tongue could be sutured. There are reports that the split in the child’s tongue was barely visible. In fact the attending doctor had told Caseley that the procedure in the theatre would take no more than 15 minutes. However, it lasted for about one hour.
Medical personnel who attended to the child in the theatre reported to Caseley that he was unconscious and they were unable to resuscitate him.
The state of affairs had caused the public hospital to commence an investigation, according to Chief Executive Officer, Michael Khan. He said that it was expected that the investigation would have ended yesterday.
Khan told this publication that the result of the post mortem was already being perused by those tasked with investigating the case.
According to Khan, too, there are plans to meet with the grieving family today.
But those close to the family insist that the mere findings of an investigation will not put the matter to rest.
This publication was also reliably informed that as part of a call for justice for Jaden Mars, a peaceful candlelight vigil is slated to be held outside the hospital at 18:30 hours today.
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