By Mia Anthony
The recent deaths of children in Berbice have brought back harrowing memories for a West Demerara family whose five-year-old daughter died last September
Umawattie Gonace, mother of five-year old, Jai-devi Gurdyal told the Sunday Stabroek that her daughter’s case is now at a standstill. “It is seven months now and no update on anything from the Ministry of Health [MoH].”
The ministry frequently promises answers but these are never forthcoming.
Gonace shared that she is reminded of her daughter now more than ever with the recent news of children dying inexplicably. “One case I saw was of a nineteen-month-old baby who went to the West Demerara Regional Hospital and died, [so] when I see these things on my phone I swipe because I remember this is how my child died”.
According to the mother, the last update she received from the MoH is that the sample taken from her daughter was supposedly taken to Trinidad to be investigated by a team of doctors. “This was since late November, they told me I would be updated in the first week of February of this year; it is now April and nothing new.” In addition, she still has not received her daughter’s records from the West Demerara Regional Hospital (WDRH). “Seeing these new cases, I feel for the parents that are going to now have to deal with a system like this. The families usually receive no justice.”
The cause of Jai-devi’s death is still being questioned by her family, as different records show varying causes. “The Georgetown Hospital record showed her cause of death as brain damage, the West Demerara Regional Hospital said her cause of death is because of asthma but they have not given me her records,” Gonace disclosed. These different causes have made the woman and her family lose trust in the healthcare system in Guyana, compounded by the poor treatment they received from the medical staff when she was under WDRH care.
“Her father and I miss her [and] I am still grieving. Last week she would have turned 6 years old my heart is ripped apart especially on holidays I cry the most… I read the stories of the children’s deaths in Berbice recently and these families might not receive justice either”
“But her father and I are still grieving. We will return to the ministry soon for answers.”
On September 24, 2023, at around 1 am, Gonace checked on her daughter and noticed she was struggling to breathe. Concerned, she and her husband, Anil Gurdyal, rushed their child to the WDRH. There, the doctor examined their daughter, confirming she was short of breath. They administered oxygen and the child seemed to improve briefly before needing another dose. The doctor noted a tonsil issue and prescribed medication, including saline and antibiotics.
However, shortly after treatment, the child began vomiting uncontrollably. Despite further antibiotic doses, her condition worsened. She struggled to breathe and eventually pulled off her oxygen mask. Gonace recounted, “She pulled it down, and I pulled it back up. She pulled it off again. I noticed my child’s face looked a bit different, she was panting for breath, trying hard to speak.”
After her condition continued to worsen, Jai-Devi was transferred to the Georgetown Public hospital and this was where Gonace was told that her daughter was accidentally given an overdose. “The doctors at the Georgetown Hospital said she was overdosed on antibiotics at the WDRH they said she was supposed to be given three doses of antibiotics; they ended up giving her six within half an hour.
“I spent the last moments my child had begging to be let into the ICU to be by her side but unfortunately she passed before her father and I were allowed in.”
Gonace is still hopeful that the investigation will do right by her and hopes the families that have now lost “their little loved ones” receive the justice they deserve.
