By Lakhram Bhagirat
What was supposed to be a simple appendicitis surgery for 37-year-old Candacie Sardina turned out to be one of the most horrifying experiences she has ever had, with her still suffering the consequences.
Twenty-eight months ago, Sardina of Middle Street, Pouderoyen, West Bank Demerara, underwent surgery at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC) for suspected appendicitis; however, following the surgery, doctors told the woman that she had a ruptured bowel, which they “fixed.” Nevertheless, since then the woman has not been able to recover fully. She has to visit the hospital to have dressing done on a daily basis.
“About three years before I had the surgery I used to have bad belly pain and vomiting and diarrhoea. I used to go to the doctor steady but them say them nah know what happen to me and in February 2016, them tell me that is my appendix and I have to do a surgery. I do the surgery and then them doctor make a mistake and cut me intestines and them tell me them stitch it up,” she said.
“After the surgery, I was still in pain and so and then me condition get bad. Them move me to the HDU (High Dependency Unit) and then the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) and then them tell me that I get malnutrition and send me home,” Sardina added.
The woman related that after she was discharged from the hospital, her complications began to worsen. She still could not eat and had chronic abdominal pains. In addition, the incision was not healing and became infected, resulting in her returning to the hospital. She further related that the doctors then ignored her for quite some time before corrective surgery was done in September 2016.
However, the surgery seemed to cause more damage than it fixed. Sardina explained that now she has to wear a colostomy bag and the incision is still infected.
“I can’t bathe properly and when the cut leaking is all thing coming out. Most of the time is my mess (faecal matter) and the pain is worse than making a baby,” the mother of two related.
The visibly pale woman related that her youngest child is in Suriname with her husband, who is a Surinamese national. “I can’t travel. People scorn me because of how I does smell sometimes and the doctors nah do nothing. I want to see my son. He is eight years old and I haven’t seen him in so long. His father does work and they don’t have time to come over here. I am a poor woman and I have to work but this situation them doctors put me in here make I can’t work,” Sardina said.
She further stated that she has to visit the West Demerara Regional Hospital on a daily basis to dress the wound and after it was reported that it is showing no signs of healing, she was given a referral to the GPHC for yet another operation.
According to the referral letter, seen by <<<<<Guyana Times>>>>, doctors at the WDRH think Sardina has Crohn’s disease (an inflammatory bowel disease that causes inflammation of your digestive tract, which can lead to abdominal pain, severe diarrhoea, fatigue, weight loss and malnutrition) but no definitive diagnosis was given. Another corrective surgery was scheduled in for March 16, 2018 at 07:00h but to date, it is yet to be performed.
“Them nurses and doctors at Georgetown Hospital does treat you like dogs. Today (Thursday) I go for a dressing and see the doctor then them holler up on me because I tell them I’m in pain. I just want them to fix me up so I can get on with me life. Them got me so. I can’t work or see my children or anything. I have to depend on people and that is stressing me out,” she said.
The woman is appealing to the relevant authorities to have some sort of corrective actions taken so she could go back to her normal life.
