Eight-year-old Richard Boodram, the child who was brutally beaten by his classmates at the Mon Repos Primary School almost a month ago, is likely to remain hospitalised for an additional four weeks after doctors learnt that his left eye is infected as a result of the blows he sustained.
His mother Devika Persaud told Stabroek News yesterday that her son is recovering slowly but will have to remain hospitalised for 28 more days. She said that a recent MRI scan revealed that Boodram’s left eye is infected as a result of the blows he sustained. When the doctor learnt that, she said, they told her that they will have to treat him with antibiotics for 28 additional days.
However, depending on the speed of his recovery, Boodram could be released before the period is up. In addition, Persaud disclosed, while the swelling of his eyes is going down, Boodram cannot see properly. “When he watch, he seeing blurry, blurry,” she said.
According to the mother, she found out that her son was the victim of a vicious attack, which was committed by five of his classmates, a couple of days after her son was hospitalised. Boodram reportedly told doctors what happened to him in the presence of Persaud. The mother had told Stabroek News that she noticed that her son was acting strangely when he came home from school on November 1st and refused to eat as he wanted to just lay in the chair. “He take the food and he put it back on the table and he cover it; he didn’t eat and he go and he lay down on the chair,” she had said.
As the days passed, Persaud said, her son’s condition continued to worsen and she eventually admitted him to the hospital. At that time, she was asked by the doctors if he was beaten but being unaware of what had transpired on November 1st, she told them no. However, two days later, when her son was visited by another set of doctors, he told them and her that he was beaten by five of his classmates. “He said to them that five boy beat he in the school yard and all five of the boys is in he class,” Persaud said.
When asked, Persaud disclosed that her son is in the fourth grade and is the smallest boy in his class at the school. “He find a ball in the school yard and they fighting he for the ball and two of them hold he down and one of them tek a wood and lash he in he head and another one come from behind and take a bottle and lash he pon he neck back,” the mother related stating that, that is what she found out.
Yesterday, Boodram’s grandmother, who stays with him at the hospital, said that the child is suffering from nightmares. She said that prior to the attack, her grandchild never once screamed in his sleep but lately, he has been screaming and shouting, “They drowning me! They drowning me! Help me out of this trench.” She revealed that after questioning the child, he told them that when he was being beaten, the boys told him that “anytime he tell the teacher or anybody them go beat he bad and drown he in the trench.”
The emotional woman added, “He really going through bad. Every day he punishing.” In addition, Boodram’s grandmother said that despite what he is going through physically and mentally, Boodram is worrying about end of term examinations. “He is very intelligent. He tell me, ‘Nani test ah write at school’, and he can’t get to write test,” she said.
Meanwhile, Persaud revealed that in addition to struggling to cope financially, she is struggling to cope with her son’s pain. “I don’t know how I going to cope for the next few days. I ain’t get no money. All me money done. I barely making it with passage and me ain’t know what will happen when the 28 day done. I feeling it cause right now it hard and every day dem boring he vein and it ain’t get no vein to bore nah more because they done bore all over like five times already and me nearly getting black out when I seeing them doing that ‘cause he screaming,” she stated.
The mother of four added that her six-year-old son hasn’t attended school since Boodram was hospitalised. She said that Boodram, who is her eldest son, usually takes the child to school and since she has to go to the hospital every day, she is unable to carry him. She revealed that she has to carry the three remaining siblings to the hospital every day. “This hard for me ‘cause me gat three more children. He (Boodram) the eldest. My two-month baby, one is one [year] plus and one six years and every day I gotta fetch them fo bring them with me and it hard for me. The six-year-old nah get to go school cause this one here used to carry him and I can’t mek it to carry him ‘cause I ga mek it to come here. Sometimes late, late me deh pon the park with my three children trying to catch bus to go home,” the emotional single parent stated.
Persaud related that she hasn’t paid her rent as yet and only has enough to pay her passage to and from the hospital. She added, “I ain’t get money to pay rent and I gotta look for food to cook.”
When asked if she was assisted by anybody thus far, she replied, “The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) paid half the MRI scan and two parents came and one of them give me $2,000 and one give me $5,000 and the first one wah come seh how she talk to she son and she son seh that how he just hold the hand for the next one them to beat he (Boodram) and the other one wah come say he son just knock him with a wood at he foot.”
She further disclosed that the only reason why the MoPH decided to help is because she went and pleaded with them for assistance. She said that the doctors knew of her financial woes and did their best to ensure that her son didn’t have to undergo the MRI scan. Prior to the MRI scan, which costs $170,000, Persaud revealed they had paid for a number of CT scans, the cost for which totaled over $100,000, which was the reason why she decided to approach MoPH.
“They nah find what wrong with the eye and so it still swell and so we had to do the MRI,” Persaud noted before adding that other than those she mentioned, no one, not even the Ministry of Education offered to assist her. “They visit one time with headmistress of the school and never came back,” a visibly tired Persaud said.
Officials from the Ministry of Education and the Welfare Department yesterday declined to comment on the situation.
Richard Boodram at his last year’s Christmas party. Pictures saved as Richard Boodram, 1 in Y:\Pictures
The 8-year-old when he was first admitted in the Georgetown Public Hospital with his eyes swollen shut
