In February 2022, one year after he moved to Georgetown from the Pomeroon, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), Theordore Fernandes began experiencing severe pain accompanied by swelling in the lower part of his right foot. At the time, he thought maybe it was just a simple passing ailment. Then he visited the hospital and was told by medical staff that he had a blood clot in the ailing foot.
“I was diagnosed with DVT, or deep vein thrombosis,” he said.
Now 69, Fernandes, who worked in the mining sector for most of his life, told this publication that he was treated at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC) for the ailment. “I had to be put on blood thinner for six months,” he said.
He said he was referred for treatment at the clinic at the Campbellville Health Centre, and staff there would monitor his blood pressure. He was also treated at the Hematology Clinic at the GPHC at the time.
“Dr. Bernard was extremely good at her work,” he said. He noted that she also referred him to other clinics as she tried to investigate what was the cause of the blood clot. “And why my blood was always short of iron.”
Fernandes said he kept undergoing multiple blood tests, which he said were a task by itself, and he also was treated for regular heat tests, and had to take head and chest scans and x-rays.
“But nothing was showing up,” he said. “So, because of the lack of iron in my blood, I had to be given iron infusions.”
He said that, in August this year, he had just received his second dose of iron infusions, and was returning home on a bus when he began to feel weak. “I was dizzy, and I had a funny feeling on my hips,” he said.
“After arriving home, my wife took me to the Campbellville Health Centre, where I was checked by a doctor,” he said. He said his blood pressure was normal, as were his facial features, and as such, the doctor recommended that he go home and take some rest. Later that night, Fernandes said, he started to feel weak again. According to his wife Yvonne, he then experienced a stroke.
“I was immediately taken to the GPHC Emergency Department, but after being there without seeing a doctor for three hours, my wife panicked and took me to a private institution, where I spent six days,” he said.
Fernandes said that with them both being pensioners, the couple was drained of what money they had, including their little savings, and he noted that after being discharged from hospital, he would visit the clinics for treatment. He then started to undergo therapy at the Rehabilitation Unit of the Palms Geriatric Home on Brickdam.
“The therapists there are extremely professional and kind. I was doing really well with my mobility. My wife and I would even go for walks in the evenings,” he said.
Fernandes said all seemed well, until August 24 this year, when he experienced a second stroke. He was admitted and spent three days at the GPHC, “because my left side was once again paralyzed. It was not a good experience for me.”
He said the doctors and nurses were helpful, but he noted that he could not do anything to help himself.
Fernandes said after he was discharged from the hospital, he continued to attend clinic.
“I drank my medication and tried my best to eat healthy meals,” he said.
Fernandes then restarted therapy sessions at the Palms on September 27th last. He said that on the following day, while exercising, he started to feel weak once more, and his speech became slurred. “My wife couldn’t even understand what I was saying,” he said. “I experienced a third stroke,” he said.
Fernandes said he has high praise for Dr. Bernard, who treated him for this third stroke and who continued to investigate his ailment. He said that, on October 12, Dr. Bernard informed him of his diagnosis while he was being treated at the Hematology Clinic at the GPHC.
“She had my test results, and it showed that I am suffering from a rare disease called Polycythemia Vera – a type of blood cancer where the bone marrow is making too many red blood cells.”
He said it is a situation where his blood is becoming thick and causing the blood clot, which was the cause of the strokes he experienced.
According to medical research, although there is no cure for the disease, people diagnosed with Polycythemia Vera can survive for decades if they do not experience any serious complications.
Fernandes said he felt relieved when he received the diagnosis. “I know it is cancer, but it is manageable, and I was happy that after more than one year and a half, I learnt what was causing the blood clot,” he said. “I was put on oral medication called hydroxyurea for cancer,” he added.
When he spoke with this publication last week, he was on his 9th day of medication, and being optimistic, Fernandes noted that with his wife by his side, although the medication has produced side effects, “we are dealing with those as they come along.”
He said the side effects include bouts of upset stomach, an “itchy” feeling about his body, and headaches. He said if the medication does not work, he would have to undergo Phlebotomy, which is the removal of blood from the body to manage blood disorders.
Fernandes has said that although he was diagnosed with cancer, his wife and other family members felt relieved when he received his diagnosis. He said he recently began therapy session once more at the Palms. As he recounted his experiences of last year, Fernandes said life as he knows it has not been easy for the past year.
“Since the attacks from the stroke, it is even more challenging. Instead of bus, I have to now take taxis; and my left side is paralyzed, so I have to use a wheelchair. My wife has to do so many things that I am unable to do for myself,” Fernandes noted.
However, Fernandes said he and his wife have “great faith in God. We thank Him for life often.” He said his relatives and friends also pray for him, and they have also provided sincere words of encouragement to him and his wife.
“The doctors, nurses and therapists also do a great job at helping me with my recovery,” he added.
Fernandes hails from the Upper Pomeroon. He said he was born in the village of Mapari, and after his school days, he was once a teacher at the primary school at Kabakaburi, which he had attended. He taught there for four years before moving to the Rupununi village of Annai to teach.
He said he then left the teaching profession to work in the field of forestry, alongside his father who was in the timber trade. He then entered the mining field, travelling to areas where there were gold “shouts.”
Fernandes said he spent most of his life along the Guyana/Venezuela border; he lived along the Wenamu River for many years, where he worked as a diver and on the mining dredge.
He noted that he has lived life the way he wants it, and he reiterated that he has faith in the Almighty that his ailment will be cured.
