Four months after undergoing what was supposed to be a simple surgery to remove gallstones, a resident of Shulinab, in South Central Rupununi, has been reduced to a vegetative state, leaving her family with mounting medical bills and little hope for her recovery.
Thelma Robeiro, 48, was diagnosed with gallstones during a medical outreach in Region Nine. The diagnosis prompted the woman to undergo a surgery, which was reportedly done at the Lethem Regional Hospital on April 10.
However, the procedure was unsuccessful, which resulted in the woman being transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) for treatment.
However, according to a relative of the woman, it was after Robeiro underwent surgery at the GPH that her condition suddenly deteriorated. “All of this was so unexpected, she (Robeiro) left here strong. She was talking, walking and smiling when she left,” the relative said.
Stabroek News made multiple attempts to contact the hospital’s public relations officer for a comment on the case but was unsuccessful.
The relative, who requested anonymity, related that while Robeiro’s doctor said that the surgery was successful, he told other relatives that he suspected that she suffered a heart attack after the surgery and that it went unnoticed by nurses at the hospital. He attributed the woman’s current condition to this occurrence, the relative added.
With Robeiro’s condition significantly deteriorated, she was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), where she spent more than a month before being transferred back to the female ward and eventually back to the Lethem Regional Hospital, where she has been a patient for the last two weeks.
Commenting on Robeiro’s present condition, the relative related that she is unable to move and has to be fed through a feeding tube.
The relative added that Robeiro’s immediate family is unsatisfied with what occurred, while adding that they were told that there is nothing more than can be done to improve the woman’s condition.
Additionally, they have voiced concern over what they say is the poor treatment of the woman by the nurses and doctors at the Lethem Regional Hospital.
Robeiro’s condition has also caused more health woes in the family since her husband has been in and out of the hospital for treatment of hypertension after she took ill, the relative said.
“We don’t know what to do anymore,” the relative lamented, while adding that the family should be granted some form of compensation or assistance for all the expenses incurred as a result of the woman’s poor treatment at the city hospital.
A mother to several children, most of whom live in neighbouring Brazil, Robeiro is currently being cared for by her youngest daughter and teenage son, with assistance from other family members.
However, as the days go by, the family is left to wonder about their options as Robeiro remains confined to her bed at the Lethem Regional Hospital.
