(Trinidad Guardian) A Princes Town mother wants to know how her son, Navin Bheesham-Singh, died from a rare flesh-eating bacterium, five days after a doctor diagnosed and treated him for a pinched nerve. An autopsy at the mortuary of the San Fernando General Hospital gave the cause of his death as septic shock necrotizing fasciitis of the right limb
According to the Centres for Disease Control, necrotizing fasciitis is a serious bacterial infection that spreads rapidly and destroys the body’s soft tissue. Known as a flesh-eating infection, this rare disease can be caused by different types of bacteria.
Navin Singh, of Gajdhar Lands, Princes Town, died on October 30, two days after his 30th birthday, and was cremated on November 2 at the Shore of Peace. He was the first of the four children of his parents, Bhagwantee and Andy Weekes.
He worked as a welder with a contractor at Petrotrin and had set a date to marry his girlfriend of five years, Janice Soogrim, on April 16 next year. Soogrim had already ordered and received her wedding dress.
Bhagwantee Singh-Weekes yesterday went public with a plea for all doctors, including Health Minister Dr Fuad Khan, to examine her child’s case and tell her what went wrong.
She said the bacteria not only destroyed the flesh, fat and muscles of her son’s leg but caused all of his organs to fail. She believes if he had been properly diagnosed when he first sought attention, he might have been alive today. She said the death of her first-born had caused her no end of grief and promised to leave no stone unturned until she got justice.
“Please, please look at it, Madam Prime Minister, anybody, and tell me why my child is dead today. Investigate, analyse and tell me, so I can get some closure,” Singh pleaded at a news conference at the Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union headquarters, Para-mount Building, San Fernando.
