Baffled by her sudden death, a West Bank Demerara family awaits a post-mortem examination (PME) to determine what killed 13-year-old Mariza Kissoon, who collapsed suddenly at school on Thursday, while the school’s head teacher decried the poor treatment the child received at the West Demerara Regional Hospital (WDRH).
Kissoon of 1518 Westminster, Parfait Harmonie died on Thursday afternoon at the WDRH where she was taken by her head teacher and sister after she suddenly collapsed in her classroom at the New Era Academy, a private school in Parfait Harmonie.
New Era Head teacher Amelia Sammy said that the teen who had been enrolled in the school just about 10 days prior to her death, had said she was unwell that morning.
“During the morning session, she complained about feeling dizzy and having a headache… We decided that we should call her parents and send her home; I subsequently called and got on to the sister who said she would be here shortly,” Sammy said.
After lunch, she said, the students of the secondary department of the school, including Kissoon, were engaged in a class when Kissoon rested her head on the desk and began crying. When enquiries were made, Kissoon reportedly said again that she wasn’t feeling well.
Not long after this, Sammy said, she heard a student shouting out for her as Kissoon fell from her chair. “We rushed to see what happened and I called back the sister who arrived 10 minutes after,” Sammy said, adding that during that time, Kissoon was in and out of consciousness.
Kissoon’s sister accompanied her to the hospital along Sammy and another student.
However, when they arrived at the hospital, Sammy said, the treatment was nothing short of unsatisfactory. They had to struggle to get Kissoon into the emergency room, since there were no porters at the hospital to offer assistance.
Sammy said that when they finally got Kissoon to the emergency area, she was left unattended as the nurses who were present openly stated that they had just ended their shift and the teen would have to await the arrival of the other nurses before she can be attended to.
Eventually, these nurses appeared and Kissoon was given oxygen, but the nurses went off and left her. During this time, the head teacher said, the oxygen equipment fell and became detached from Kissoon causing her to start panting for breath. Sammy, Kissoon’s sister and the other student were forced to try and reattach it.
As time passed, they were asked to wait in a separate area, only to be informed shortly after that Kissoon’s heart rate was decreasing.
Not long after, another nurse came out and informed them that Kissoon had died.
Sammy said she believes more could have been done at the hospital to save Kissoon’s life.
“When God ready for you is that… But I think one of the other things is the negligence of the hospital when it came to looking after the child,” she said.
Meanwhile, Kissoon’s mother Petula Lowe told Stabroek News that she is puzzled as to what caused her daughter’s death since Kissoon had no prior serious health issues.
“My daughter was a healthy child… I didn’t even get to see her before she died. By time I got there, she had already passed,” Lowe said.
Questions surrounding Kissoon’s sudden death will remain unanswered until the PME is conducted which Lowe said this is expected to be done tomorrow.
