A Diamond Hospital nurse who was involved in an accident late Thursday afternoon succumbed to her injuries the following day while receiving treatment at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH).
The deceased is twenty-six-year-old Danata Aaliya Damon, a mother of one of Plot 8, Kuru Kururu, Linden/Soesdyke Highway.
Three other persons are currently hospitalized as a result of the accident.
According to a police report, a lorry GYY 3116 driven by a 33-year-old man of Enmore, East Coast Demerara and a car PRR 1821 driven by a 26-year-old man of Diamond Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara were involved in the fatal accident.
Enquiries revealed that about 5 pm on the Coverden Public Road, East Bank Demerara, the lorry was proceeding north along the western side of the road allegedly at a fast rate and in the process of swerving from a pothole, the driver lost control and ended up in the path of the car which was proceeding south.
The two drivers along with an occupant of the lorry and Damon who was in the car were taken to the GPH. As stated in a police report at the time of the incident, their conditions were listed as “serious but stable”. Damon succumbed on New Year’s Day to her injuries around 5.30 pm according to a subsequent police report.
She was said to have suffered broken limbs.
Brother of the deceased, Jason Damon told Stabroek News last night that his sister died in his arms on Friday afternoon. His sister he said was on her way home from work on Old Year’s Day and had planned to assist her mother in making cook-up. Jason said he got a call from his mother informing him of the incident around 7.30 pm on Thursday. He was in a bus on his way home but immediately got off and boarded another bus back to Georgetown.
Shortly after he got to the hospital, he recalled his sister being in the emergency room and vomiting while he and a neighbour tried to help her. Jason said his sister asked him to rub her back for her as she was nauseous but not sure if he could he asked a nurse nearby whether it was okay to do so. The nurse who he said was on her phone turned his way to reply to him and in doing so recognized the now dead woman as a colleague. Jason recalled the nurse getting up and giving his sister an injection to prevent her from vomiting.
The man said the family was told that his sister needed a CT scan before any surgery could be done. Jason said that he paid for the scan to be done about 11 that night and the nurses took her for the scan.
Owing to COVID guidelines, the family was afterwards asked to wait outside of the hospital compound. He recalled waiting there into New Year’s morning before their mother insisted to see her daughter.
“My mother had to beg and say that it’s her daughter and she wants to know if she do the CT scan. They allow her in and that’s when she learn that Danata do the CT scan. We went home after that. Her [Danata’s] mother-in-law went back after that to carry some sheets for her. They had her right under the AC [unit]. When you alright and nothing ain’t wrong with you and you in too much AC, your skin does hurt. You can imagine what she did going through,” Jason said.
He added, “That night before my mother left, she kissed Danata and tell her that everything will be okay and to remember she needed to stay strong for [her son]. My mother told her Happy New Year and that she will see her tomorrow and then we left.” That was the last time they would see her in a conscious state.
According to the man, on New Year’s morning when he returned, he saw his sister sleeping. Following that he noted that he and a neighbour were sent outside as the nurses were changing shift. He recalls holding his sister’s hand and noting that it was “really cold”. However, he said she seemed to still be breathing fine. The man said that around 10 that morning, several nurses and doctors surrounded his sister’s bed which made him worry about his sister’s condition.
Around 1pm on Friday, Damon was put on life support in the emergency room as the intensive care unit was said to be full. The nurses, Jason said, told him that his sister’s organs were collapsing. She passed away a few hours later. The man said no surgery was done on his sister.
One of the persons injured has been identified as forty-four-year-old Aquaba Assanah of Haslington Housing Scheme, East Coast Demerara.