After spending almost three months at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH), 10-year-old Sameer Shamshudin was welcomed home by his family on Christmas Eve and is said to be happily adjusting.
The Strathoven Primary School student sustained trauma to the head and chest when the vehicle he was travelling in slammed into a lantern post at the Airy Hall, Mahaicony turn on the morning of October 2, killing 12-year-old Raheem Xavier and 15-year-old Collin Williams.
The child spent the first three weeks in the Intensive Care Unit of the GPH before being transferred to the Paediatric Ward. There, his parents saw him open his eyes for the first time since the tragedy. Over time, they communicated with him in small ways such as the squeeze of a finger or a blink of the eye. Mohamed Shamshudin, the boy’s father, was optimistic about the small gestures and their meaning for his child’s recovery.
It was a long road not only for Sameer, but his family as well. This newspaper visited the hospital day after day and the boy’s parents as well as his three siblings were always at his side. They ensured he was well exercised and comfortable during his stay at the public institution.
Sameer was released from the hospital on Christmas Eve for a few days only for a reaction towards readjusting to his home environment. However, while he was hospitalized, his family moved from their Lot 19 Strathoven, East Coast Demerara home to Lot 5 Vlissengen Road.
According to the child’s father, he responded positively to the new house and as a result, they returned him to the hospital on December 28 only for him to be officially discharged and sent home.
Stabroek News visited Sameer at his new house and found the child in high spirits.
Though unable to verbally communicate with his loved ones, Sameer is indicating what he wants, likes and dislikes. While the family is pleased with this, they explained that everything is now a learning process for Sameer since the nature of his injury has completely erased his memory.
“It’s like a blank CD now. We have to fill it in back now… shouldn’t be a difficult task because being back home for the past couple of hours, we can see that he is already starting to full up back that CD,” Mohamed said as he explained that his son is now identifying relatives in photographs when asked to point them out.
The excited parent said they were able to give him his first bath since the accident when he went home on December 28. “Me and his mother bathe him from head to toe… that was fun but going back into the water was a little scary for him.
He is like a little baby now. We have to teach him everything,” he added.
Returning to school in the near future is not an option for his son, Mohamed indicated, saying that the boy is still unable to do basic things. “He has to learn to walk, learn to hold a pencil, he is now opening his hand to shake and give a five,” he said.
The man added that Sameer is seemingly more comfortable at home and expressed his and the rest of the family’s delight at this. “He was a missing link in the family and when he come back home, we feel that the chain is now fully linked,” he added.
The only treatment Sameer is required to take is a muscle relaxer which is supplied by the GPH. This medication, Mohamed said, costs an estimated US$15 per pill and Sameer needs one every day.
The family is unable to afford this. Sameer is due to visit the clinic in two weeks when he will be evaluated. If continued treatment is needed, Mohamed said, the hospital has indicated that it will stand the expense.
The man also extended gratitude for the assistance provided by the Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana, Management of F&H Printing and the Alim family from Cane Grove, among others.
These persons, he said, have helped financially and also by providing basic necessities such as diapers and Ensure dietary supplement, which doctors have recommended for the child.
“Those things are very helpful to us because if we had to put a cost to it we might not have been able to maintain it so we’re very thankful,” Mohamed said, adding that he will also be grateful for any further support.
