. . . Parents call for probe
TRINIDAD  EXPRESS – The parents of an infant girl who went blind after treatment at hospital for a fever, are asking for help from expert doctors who may be able to restore her sight.
Little Alana Bhagwandaye, three, was described as a child who “ran and played all day long” until she was admitted, when she was 16-months-old, to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mount Hope.
Her mother, Sarah Bhagwandaye, 26, said tests were performed on the child to determine the cause of the fever.
Among the tests was a spinal tap or lumbar puncture which is commonly used to collect cerebrospinal fluid when meningitis is suspected.
Bhagwandaye said: “The doctors said that Alana’s body manufactured more white than red blood cells,” she said.
She said that following the spinal tap, her daughter became blind.
“I was so shocked, I didn’t know what to do,” she said. Bhagwandaye, of Gasparillo, said her child’s condition has continued to deteriorate.
Father Ashmeed Mohammed said that each time he saw a glimmer of hope of his daughter regaining her sight, it ended in frustration.
“It has been a long time and my daughter continues to suffer,” he said.
One year ago, the child’s condition was highlighted and a donor came forward to pay medical fees for private consultation to assist the child in regaining her sight.
Bhagwandaye said, “I took my daughter to a private nursing home and later joined the San Fernando General Hospital where more tests were conducted.”
She said that the results have left doctors baffled.
“Based on the test results, the doctors said that there was nothing wrong with the child’s eyes,” she said.
Bhagwandaye and Mohammed are the parents of four children.
Alana is the third child with two older brothers and a younger sister with whom she is unable to play.
The parents said the child has developed “bandy legs”—curvature of the legs—and often cried and was fearful of unfamiliar sounds.
“When I think back to the beautiful, healthy child she had been before the fever, it breaks my heart. I cannot image how difficult it must be for her to lose her sight and be confined when she was so full life,” the mother said.
The parents said that they wanted the case highlighted to get results for their child.
“There must be someone out there who can help our child and others who can help us get justice for our baby,” they said.
Bhagwandaye said no child should suffer as Alana has and no mother should have to bear the burden of helplessness as she watches her child move from being carefree and happy to being desolate and in pain.
“When she just came out of Mt Hope, she cried day and night for two months and it was almost eight months before she was out of pain. Mentally, we are suffering every day.”
Medical authorities at the San Fernando General Hospital who were working on the case said that there was no nerve damage to the child’s eyes and more tests had to be carried out to determine the cause of blindness.