Latest update March 29th, 2025 5:38 AM
Process commences for shot man to have bullet removed overseas
Overseas medical care may soon be on the horizon for 28-year-old Jason Fraser, who has for more than a month been moving around with a bullet lodged in his abdomen.
A letter from the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) last week, confirming the presence of the bullet, has paved the way for his mother, Joy Lamaison, to seek out the possible options in the United States for the removal of the bullet.
The US-based woman, during an interview with this publication, disclosed that although she has started the process for Fraser, along with two more of her sons residing here, to migrate to the US, she was hoping that his condition would have seen the Embassy granting him a visa to travel for medical care.
Jason Fraser
Her attempt to secure a visa for her son was refused by the US Embassy.
The visa was refused, the woman disclosed, since a letter from the hospital failed to highlight that the doctor who attended to her son was unable to remove the bullet in his abdomen. In fact, the woman related that the doctor had informed her that “the hospital does not trace bullets…” and that the bullet was positioned in “some layer” in his abdomen.
According to a letter from the US Embassy, it is possible to overcome the visa refusal if certain details and documents are made available. Among the documents the Embassy requested is that of a letter stating the patient’s medical condition and proof that the procedure could not be done in Guyana.
Among other requirements are letters from the hospital/physician in the US confirming payment arrangements and amount paid; a process that Lamaison is currently engaged in. According to the Embassy, the submission of the required documents “will enable us to process your application in a timely manner.”
But the late start to provide the requisite information for Fraser’s likely travel to the US was due to the fact that the attending doctor at the GPHC had failed to inform the young man’s mother that the bullet was still in his abdomen.
The woman had returned home to care for her son after learning that he was shot.
Fraser was shot on February 25 last during a scuffle between himself and another man, who was armed with a gun, and who attempted to rob the Shakers Mexican Grill and Bar at Water Street, Georgetown. At the time of the incident, Fraser was the supervisor of the establishment.
The injured Fraser was taken to the GPHC for medical treatment where it was found that a bullet had pierced his lower abdomen and damaged his intestines. A surgical procedure was conducted on the man and within five days he was discharged.
His mother first learned that the bullet was still lodged in him when she visited the Brickdam Police Station to enquire about the status of the investigation into the shooting incident since the perpetrator was not arrested.
The woman, during an interview with this publication, disclosed that at the Police Station an officer informed her that the investigation was at a standstill since the investigating ranks were unable to trace the bullet because there was no spent shell at the scene of the crime nor were doctors able to extricate the bullet from her son.
Moreover, she returned to the hospital to state her disappointment at the hospital’s failure to inform her of the presence of the bullet and also requested that she be provided with a letter stating that the bullet was not removed. According to the woman, the initial doctor’s report of her son’s condition failed to detail anything about the bullet.
The report however made reference to a colostomy, a surgical opening in the abdominal wall, to allow Fraser to pass stool while his repaired intestines healed. Fraser disclosed yesterday that he is expected to return to the public hospital this month-end to reverse the process if he is not able to travel overseas by then.
Fraser’s mother was furnished with a revised report of his condition one day after an article was published in this newspaper highlighting her frustration about the lack of cooperation from officials at the public hospital.
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