Months after he was severely burnt about his body during an incident at his West Coast Demerara (WCD) home, 10-year-old Jomahri Mortley is recovering in the United States (US), where he was flown for treatment.
Non-governmental organisation Saving Hands Emergency Aid (SHEA) in a Facebook post yesterday said that Mortley has since completed multiple surgeries and therapy sessions.
He is scheduled to be discharged in the next three weeks, SHEA said.
Mortley sustained second degree burns to more than 50% of his body on October 28, 2021, at his Den Amstel, WCD home.
SHEA’s local representative, Sita Sugrim, had previously told Sunday Stabroek that Mortley and his mother were doing his homework together and the woman fell asleep.
She said Mortley ventured into the living room of the house and lit a bottle of sanitizer, causing it to explode.
According to Sugrim, the child’s mother related that she was awakened by his screams for help. When the woman rushed out of the bedroom, she saw Mortley’s lower body on fire.In an effort to put out of the fire, Sugrim said Mortley’s mother rolled him on the floor but this was of little help since the floor was covered in tiles. She then rushed him into the bathroom and turned on the shower.
Mortley was subsequently rushed to Georgetown Public Hospital.
In early November, he was medevaced to the US after he was accepted at a hospital there. The cost for his treatment was an estimated $3.2 million.
