Latest update November 5th, 2024 1:00 AM
Pregnant patient, 21, faces death if untreated
– Overseas treatment required; family pleads for support
With heavy hearts, doctors at a private hospital and the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), on separate occasions, discharged a 21-year-old maternity patient whose days are now said to be numbered after a case of hypertension (high-blood pressure) has led to a life-threatening condition.
Samantha Persaud
The difficult decision made by the doctors of both hospitals was said to be due to the lack of medical resources to treat her condition.
According to the father of Samantha Persaud, Jaimangal Gansham, doctors informed him that the condition can lead to her death within two to three weeks, if she is left untreated. The woman is six months pregnant.
Gansham, who expressed the desire of having his daughter “enjoy more than just one year of happy marriage”, told this publication that she started to complain of severe headaches and dizziness after suffering from hypertension at their home five weeks ago.
He said that she was immediately rushed to the private hospital, and was diagnosed there with a serious abnormality in her brain.
Spending about three weeks at the hospital, Persaud’s father said that he exhausted almost $1.9M towards her possible recovery, but treatment was unsuccessful.
Gansham was later advised by doctors at the private facility to seek urgent overseas treatment for his daughter, as they lacked the medical resources to treat her condition.
However, lacking the finance to fund his daughter’s surgery overseas, Gansham transferred her to GPHC on September 18.
Persaud, of Shanty Town, Leonora, West Coast Demerara, was again told by doctors that the lack of medical resources would not facilitate her being treated as is required.
Signed by the General Medical Officer, Dr. Anna Singh, GPHC’s medical report on Persaud’s condition stated that an “MRI of the brain with and without contrast was done which showed Arteriovenous malformation.”
Arteriovenous malformation is said to be “an abnormal connection between arteries and veins, bypassing the capillary system. This vascular anomaly is widely known because of its occurrence in the central nervous system, but can appear in any location. Although many AVMs are asymptomatic, they can cause intense pain or bleeding or lead to other serious medical problems”.
Similar to the doctors’ advice at the private hospital, the GPHC report stated that “presently we do not have the necessary resources to operate on this type of pathology, hence we advise the patient to seek overseas treatment.”
The report indicated Persaud is also suffering from temporary memory loss.
According to her father, Persaud was discharged from GPHC yesterday, in an unstable and critical condition.
Having used all their funding on local treatment, her family said that they are struggling to accumulate enough money for overseas treatment.
After exploring options in the Caribbean and South America, the family said that the surgery is being offered in Venezuela at US$20,000 (G$4M) in most hospitals.
Gansham said that he is currently seeking assistance from the Ministry of Health, NGOs and his family and friends, to acquire the sum of money to save his daughter and grand-child.
The worried father is pleading for the public to help him to save his daughter’s life and that of her unborn child. Persons desirous of providing support can do so by making a deposit in account number 218422197 at Citizens Bank.
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