radhica.sookraj@guardian.co.tt
Medical officials say there is no conclusive diagnosis that indicates that six-month-old baby Christopher Sahadeo is still bleeding from his brain.
In an interview yesterday, chief executive officer of the South West Regional, Gail Miller-Meade said based on medical reports the baby still has to undergo MRI tests to assess the extent of his injury.
Miller-Meade said several CT scans had been done on the child at the San Fernando General Hospital as she contradicted claims made by the child’s parents.
Initially, an MRI was carded for 2019, but Miller-Meade said the hospital was now making arrangements to have the MRI test done earlier in time for Sahadeo’s scheduled clinic visit on February 14.
She said Sahadeo was brought into the hospital as an emergency case following a referral from the Rio Claro Health Centre on September 30, a day after his parent’s home collapsed with him inside, after heavy rains.
“He has a head injury. It was an emergency and they were seen in our emergency department. We referred them to paediatric medicine and we were in the medical department. Medical social workers saw the child on October 2, 2017, and the parents said they had already made arrangements to repair the home,” Miller-Meade said.
A neurosurgery assessment was done and different doctors assessed Sahadeo, Miller-Meade said.
“A CT scan was done on October 24 and based on the CT scan the child was referred to neurosurgery. Neurosurgery made an assessment and the child was assessed by physiotherapy, ophthalmology, etc,” Miller-Meade said.
She added that a TORCH test (toxoplasmosis, rubella, cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Herpes simplex virus) had to be done privately along with a Von Willebrand factor (vWF) test to analyse how long he bled before his blood began clotting.
She said those tests were not available at the SFGH but a social worker liaised with the non-governmental group Friends of San Fernando General Hospital who raised funds and paid for one of the tests. The receipt was provided to the social welfare department by Sahadeo’s family.
Miller-Meade said based on the latest CT Scan there was no confirmation of bleeding. Asked why recommendations were made for more scans to be done, Miller-Meade said the baby was brought back to the hospital and another doctor recommended an MRI be done.
“There is no conclusive diagnosis saying that there is bleeding in the brain but this will be confirmed only after more tests are done,” Miller-Meade said.
However, medical reports provided by Sahadeo’s father, Curtis Poonilal, showed that the baby was being treated for haemorrhaging and a fractured skull. Poonilal and his wife, Christine Sahadeo, took the baby yesterday to get an ultrasound done.
Poonilal said he was thankful that the hospital was organising to do the MRI for the baby. He said he had all his medical reports and was grateful to the scores of Good Samaritans who responded to his son’s plight.
Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh, who has taken an interest in the baby’s case, said all MRI and CT scanners were now functioning at the hospital. He said the machines were down for a while last year as it was being upgraded.
