TWO weeks after being struck down by a speeding minibus on the Puruni Road, Region 7 (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) while driving an All Terrain Vehicle (ATV), policeman Ryan Craigen, 33, who suffered a fractured left shoulder and a shattered right thigh, is back in hospital.

He had emergency surgery on Sunday to correct injuries sustained to his leg.
On October 7, around 13:45 hrs, police officer Craigen, who is stationed at the Itaballi Police Outpost, was driving an ATV heading for Itaballi Landing, when a grey minibus transporting passengers and travelling in the opposite direction, negotiated a bend at a terrific speed and veered into his lane (the left hand side of the road).
Craigen said that as the minibus went across to the ATV lane, he tried to pull slightly to the right, but the errant driver, apparently in a panick, again ended up in the path of the ATV, causing a horrific head-on collision. The ATV was a write-off.
The seriously injured cop was rushed along the trail to the Bartica Hospital where he was given emergency treatment before being evacuated to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GHP). In the city it was determined that he had suffered a fractured left arm and shoulder; a broken right thigh with shattered blood vessels in the region of the groin, as well as a puncture to his nose.
For the first two days he remained unconscious and it was not until Thursday, October 9 that he became aware that he was in the hospital. After spending just under two weeks at the GPH, he was discharged and advised to go to the East La Penitence Health Centre to have dressings done daily.

INFECTED LEG
However, there was a bigger shock in store for Craigen when he turned up at the East La Penitence Health Centre to have the injuries dressed. It was discovered that the leg was infected and necessitated immediate corrective surgery. He was taken back to hospital and the surgery was performed on Sunday afternoon.
When visited by this newspaper on Monday, Craigen was resting and his condition appeared stable. He was, however, worried that at the end of the day his wound had still not been cleaned and dressed. He noted that he is now in the initial stages of recovering from a wound that had already become infected, and required two surgeries.
When contacted, a nurse on duty said that it was the standard procedure that the doctor must first open the wound before the nurses can do the dressing. Craigen is hoping for the best.
One person in the minibus involved in the collision with the ATV was reported injured. Police are continuing their investigations.