Parents blame hospital for newborn’s nerve damage

WESTERN BUREAU:

The parents of seven-month-old Theodore Lewis are desperately seeking financial assistance for a surgery to correct nerve damage he reportedly suffered at birth at the Falmouth Hospital in Trelawny.

Donald Lewis and Tareena James, who reside in Amity, Westmoreland, were tearful as they related to The Gleaner how their firstborn suffered Erb’s palsy – a condition caused by physical injury during childbirth and characterised by arm weakness and loss of limb mobility.

James could not mask her pain as she recounted how the family’s trial began on January 20 this year, the day she gave birth to Theodore after an incident-free pregnancy.

“My baby has a birth injury from January 20 at the Falmouth Hospital. They pulled the baby by his shoulder to get him out and damaged his right hand,” James alleged.

“The baby took long to come down and I could not push him out. I explained to the nurse and told her to take me to the theatre, but she never brought me. She waited till I was losing breath and they said the baby’s heartbeat was dropping,” the mother told The Gleaner.

UNRESPONSIVE ARM

While the delivery appeared to be successful, James said that the following morning, a nurse discovered that Theodore’s right arm was unresponsive.

“When the doctor came on the ward, I told him what was happening, and they brought me to do an X-ray on the baby’s hand. The X-ray showed that they pulled the nerves out of his right arm,” said James.

According to James, the medical staff assured her that Theodore would recover in three months and referred her to an orthopaedic specialist and a physiotherapist at the Cornwall Regional Hospital in St James. However, tests there revealed that he would need to undergo surgery overseas at a cost of US$70,000 (J$11 million).

The parents said they have not been satisfied with the response of officials at the Falmouth Hospital despite giving them documents outlining the extent of the injury.

“I talked to the doctor who delivered Theodore, and he only told me to keep him updated ... and said that he would look in my docket, but I have not heard back from him,” said James. “On July 5, I carried a letter to the hospital from my lawyer, and they said they should not have any contact with me, only with my lawyer. All now I have not heard back from them.”

The child’s father made it clear that he wants the Falmouth Hospital to take responsibility for what happened to his son.

“The last time we spoke to them, they said they cannot do anything about it and that it is lawyer against lawyer, and that is so very unfair because from the baby born, it is pure ups and downs. They said they are not giving us any money, but we do not want any money; it is just his hand alone we want to come back ... ,” the father said.

When The Gleaner contacted the Falmouth Public Hospital, CEO Princess Wedderburn declined to comment as it is a legal matter.

St Andrade Sinclair, regional director of the Western Regional Health Authority, which has responsibility for the Falmouth Hospital, said he would conduct an investigation into the matter.

christopher.thomas@gleanerjm.com

How you can help

If you wish to help the family of seven-month-old Theodore Lewis, you can contact Tareena James at 876-830-9919, or make donations to Jamaica National Bank’s Montego Bay branch, account number 2094574841 (account type RSV), or contribute to the family’s GoFundMe at https://gofund.me/70dfc1c3.