Overseas-based doctors have concluded that no additional treatment options can be offered to improve the condition of Matthew Zaman, the eight-year-old child who has been bedridden for more than seven months after he was struck down by a minibus along the East Coast of Demerara (ECD) Public Road.
Lori Narine President and founder of the SHEA Charity, a non-profit organization, recently told Sunday Stabroek that over 25 hospitals in countries such as United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and a few in the Caribbean, including Cuba, were contacted about evaluation and treatment of Matthew.
She said only a few offered their insight on his case.
“Upon review of the medical information provided, the medical teams have indicated that unfortunately, there are no additional treatment options that can be offered to Matthew,” Narine said.
As a result, Narine said Matthew will require life-long care and management. “Should he be accepted at an international centre for treatment, he would need to permanently relocate and spend a lifetime in managed care,” she noted.
Therefore, all the funds which were raised for Matthew via the GoFundMe account that was set up for possible advanced medical treatment will be handed over to his mother, Bibi Shanaz Khan, to assist in whatever way.
Dr Amarnauth Dukhi, the head of the Neurosurgery Department of the Georgetown Public Hospital, previously told Sunday Stabroek that the possibility of Matthew recovering is highly unlikely due to the injuries he had sustained during the accident.
Dr Dukhi said while it is highly unlikely that he would recover, Matthew’s condition could improve if he receives long-term physiotherapy and rehabilitation.
A few days before Christmas last year, Matthew was struck down by a minibus, leaving him paralysed. The former student of the La Bonne Intention Primary School can no longer eat, speak, walk, or even breathe on his own.
He is currently being fed through his nose via a tube, and breathes through an intrusion in his neck.
The accident has resulted in Matthew being unable to sit and he lays prostrate, unable to bend or move any parts of his body. He, however, does respond to his mother’s voice by rolling his eyes.
In June, Matthew began undergoing physiotherapy sessions, which were facilitated by the Ptolemy Reid Rehabilitation Centre, at his home.
Since then, he has showed some signs of improvements. He began to sit up with assistance but not for long periods and could bend his arms and legs.
“Unfortunately there is no quick fix that will be of significant benefit to Matthew, though, with continually consistent therapy, he will regain some mobility,” SHEA had said in a Facebook post then.
The driver of the bus that struck Matthew, Andrew Albert, has since been charged with dangerous driving and has been released on $100,000 bail while his trial is underway.
Following the accident, Matthew was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he was admitted for a lengthy period.
Khan had said that doctors told her that he had sustained head injuries, a fractured skull, swelling and bleeding of the brain, and spinal injuries as a result of the accident. She also related that doctors told her that Matthew had a chance of survival but they couldn’t guarantee that he would be the child he used to be before. (Sharda Bacchus)
