29-year-old Punta Gorda resident Javier Herron is in the KHMH battling an infection that he contracted after receiving major surgery on his eye on Monday. His family tells us he's lost that eye and they blame the KHMH for it.
It started on Saturday when Herron, a mechanic by trade, was repairing a motorbike and a shard of metal became dislodged and pierced his eyeball. It was stuck there, clearly a very serious injury, and he came to Belize City to try and have it removed. After first visiting a private ophthalmologist Dr. Amin Hegar, they were referred to the KHMH where, his sister claims, the injury was not treated as an emergency and she believes that if it had been, her brother would still have that eye today.
Mona Lisa Mangar, Sister
"It was an emergency because Dr. Hegar wrote a paper stating that it is an emergency and that is why I was aggressive and went into the emergency area and told them that this is an emergency."
Jules Vasquez,
But you feel it wasn't treated like an emergency?
Mona Lisa Mangar,
"It was not treated like an emergency. The issue here is that if he had come in, that is my gripe now, if he had come in, that would have made me felt better but he did not come in. He prescribed this medication over the phone. I said, 'doc if you had come in, this would never had happened to my brother. Yes you may have had to take out the metal but his eyeball would still be in there.' I even told him that he cannot prescribe medication over the phone."
Jules Vasquez,
So you feel that if your brother had been seen and attended to on Sunday, he might still have had his eye.
Mona Lisa Mangar,
"Definitely. Definitely. That is what I believe and until I get my satisfaction and until they sit me down and tell me...something else could have been done or definitely he would have lost the eye, then I will be satisfied. But up to now I am not satisfied."
Mangar has made a complaint to the Quality Assurance Department of the hospital and it is being investigated.
