Dear Editor,
Each year, children are struck by minibuses. Sadly, many motor vehicle accidents cause serious or even fatal injuries. These accidents can be very traumatic, so it comes as no surprise that the American Psychological Association reported that motor vehicle accidents are the most common cause of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the general population. After an accident, your physical injuries might be just the beginning of your recovery process. A physical injury is usually easy to see, diagnose and prove, especially when you have medical reports that detail your treatment. However, emotional trauma isn’t always visible, and sometimes even the injured person doesn’t fully understand the depth of their psychological injuries — and emotional damage could last for years, or even a lifetime, after an accident.
After an accident, we don’t always see the invisible injuries and long term scars. We see the broken neck, broken bones and broken limbs. We see external injuries. The MRI, CT SCAN and X-rays show us a lot of the injuries. They don’t show us the mental anguish, emotional distress or the psychological impact of the injury. Immediately after the accident, we don’t always see the nightmares, flashbacks, panic and anxiety attacks. Being easily scared, feeling edgy, sleep disturbances, loss of interest in activities you’d normally enjoy. Fourteen days after the accident, my niece is experiencing several of the above symptoms, since she was nearly killed by a minibus driver on 20 November on Sheriff’ Street going home from school.
No one knows how long these invisible wounds will continue to affect her. Psychological wounds can last a lifetime. Today, she doesn’t want to see a minibus, she freezes, gets cold sweat, and panic attacks. She is unable to concentrate on her school work and is depressed. We don’t know if she will be able to take her exams. Guyana is not a safe place for her to live.
She wants the driver to lose his driver license for a long time. Her best option is for her to get out of this God forsaken country. She was psychologically damaged by the accident, and to remain in this country would continue to psychologically damage her.
Sincerely,
Anthony Pantlitz