Pooran Ramcharitar, the East Canje cane-cutter who was hospitalised after being diagnosed with Guillian Barre Syndrome (GBS), a rare neurological disorder said to be associated with the mosquito-borne Zika virus in some countries, has been discharged in light of improvements in his condition.
According to Surindra Ramcharitar, his 22-year old son became a patient of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) after he was transferred from Berbice, where he was diagnosed with the disorder.
The diagnosis came a short while after the young man started complaining about aches and numbness in his lower body. After visiting the New Amsterdam Hospital on two occasions, the symptoms continued, forcing the family to seek further medical attention from a private hospital in Berbice. It was there that the diagnosis was made, resulting in the cane-cutter being sent to Georgetown for treatment.
The father yesterday reported that the young man was transferred to the hospital’s High Dependency Unit and subsequently discharged. However, he explained that while his son would have been discharged from the hospital, the road to recovery does not end there since the young Ramcharitar will now have to undergo physiotherapy at the New Amsterdam Hospital to aid him in the movement of his lower body, which was specifically affected as a result of the disorder.
Pooran Ramcharitar was not the only patient of the ICU suffering with GBS. According to Ramcharitar’s father, there were three persons in the ICU including his son who were being treated for the disorder; one hailed from Essequibo, while the other is said to be from Wakenaam Island, in the Essequibo River.
However, Stabroek News was only able to identify one of the two patients.
Sohan Dayal, 63, of Adventure, on the Essequibo Coast, was sent to Georgetown for treatment almost a month ago on the advice of doctors at the Suddie Hospital.
Dayal’s wife, Tajewantie Dayal, related that her husband started experiencing numbness and aches in sections of his lower body.
The woman explained that at first they assumed that the aches were as a result of the man being out in the cold at night, since he worked as a security guard. However, as the pain and numbness worsened, they sought medical attention at the Suddie Hospital.
It was during this time that tests were carried out and they were informed that the elderly man had GBS and that they would have to travel to Georgetown to seek treatment.
She noted that the diagnosis was later confirmed by doctors at the GPH, who further indicated that recovery would depend heavily on the prescribed medication of Haemoglobin shots, which are said to be very costly.
Stressing how hard it was to source the money to purchase the medication, the woman explained that they did everything they could to source funding for the purchase of the medication for her husband.
Nevertheless, a relative of the man has since confirmed that he is “coming around,” as he is responding well to the treatment.
GBS is an autoimmune disorder that works by attacking the peripheral nerves outside the brain and spinal cord, causing temporary paralysis, which can, in some cases, require patients to rely on respirators for breathing.
During the acute phase, the disorder can be life-threatening, with about a quarter of patients developing weakness of the breathing muscles, while some are affected by changes in the function of the autonomic nervous system, which can lead to dangerous abnormalities in heart rate and blood pressure. Colombia and Venezuela have seen an increase in such cases.
Last week, Minister of Public Health Dr. George Norton told Stabroek News that while doctors are equipped with the knowledge of treating the disorder, the treatment in itself, is very costly and is taking a toll on the resources of the hospital.
This, he said, was particularly so in the hospital’s ICU, where those suffering with the most severe cases may have to be hooked up to ventilators to aid their breathing as was the case of Ramcharitar.
He further explained that the ministry would not be able to say whether or not the cases are a direct result of the patients having contracted the Zika virus, with which the disorder is said to be associated, since the origin of the disorder is often unknown.
