Nicholas Cox, the 16-month-old child who was hospitalised for over a month after he was allegedly given an overdose of medication, was discharged from the Georgetown Hospital on Tuesday and his mother says she was told that he had sustained brain damage.
Cox was admitted to the hospital on May 30, after he was given medication when he was taken to the institution for treatment for diarrhoea and vomiting, according to his mother. Debra Archer has said that her son’s heart stopped beating after he was given the medication by a nurse but he was resuscitated by doctors soon after and was admitted as a patient of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
Archer, who has been calling for an investigation into the treatment of her son, told Stabroek News that his condition has not changed much. He is still unable to say more than “mama” and “papa” and cannot move any part of his body other than his right hand, where a little movement is seen.
Before his admission, Archer noted, her son could talk and walk. She said she was told by the paediatrician who attended to her son that the boy had sustained brain damage after his heart stopped. The doctor also told her that the boy’s entire brain was not damaged and he did not rule out the boy walking or talking again because he is a fighter, the woman noted.
Efforts to secure a comment from the hospital were futile. Public Relations Officer of the hospital Mitzy Campbell had said in a release last week that a report on the incident will be available.
The hospital had previously stated in a release that the child was taken there after being treated for five days at a private hospital for vomiting and fever. The child was observed to be severely dehydrated and in very critical condition, while still experiencing diarrhoea and vomiting. As a result, IV fluid with medication (flagyl, augmentin and gravol) was immediately administered to him, the hospital said, adding that in spite of this the child showed signs of collapse.
Archer has said that hospital officials are yet to saying anything as to what caused her son’s heart and breathing to stop although she believes that it was a result of an overdose of medication. However, she said doctors did their best in caring for her son after he was resuscitated and she is thankful for that.
