And from that family tragedy to another.
During today's UDP press conference, Senator Sheena Pitts spoke on Kaleel Nah, the toddler who lost his life while on a boat from San Pedro to Belize City. She expressed her outrage at the fact that baby Kaleel died from dehydration, and stated that both the government and the staff at the clinic should be held responsible.
Sheena Pitts, UDP Senator
"There is no reason why Kaleel Zaxton Nah should have died in San Pedro. We hear now that it is as a result of dehydration. What are the symptoms of dehydration? How is that treated? Sunken eyes, maybe if they were trying to run an IV, they might not find the vein, but can a medical professional stop there? We can't find the vein so we can't run an IV, we can't treat him. No, and I saw no as firmly as I do because I too had a child who was in the hospital, extreme circumstances, and as a parent I stood by, insisting that the doctor on call appear to run a central line. You know what a central line is? When they can't find the veins here or here or at the feet, they run it at the jugular or at the groin. A doctor ought to have been available to run a central line at the jugular or at the groin to save Kaleel's life. The fact that he died is unacceptable, not only the government is responsible but also every medical professional who was there that night."
"It is unacceptable that a two year old lost his life on account of dehydration. He didn't require brain surgery. He didn't require chemotherapy, he didn't require any tertiary level care. The parents left to get on a boat to come to Belize City. If the prime minister in his response had said, you know what, this is an indication that in areas like this, far away from our central hospital, we need to have in place air ambulances, I wouldn't have been satisfied but I would have been pleased to hear that his directing his mind to a deficiency that he can meet."
"I invite his parents, I'm not here to solicit work, I invite his parents to find any attorney and you take the entire staff and the government to court for your young child."
The most recent statement from government is that they are awaiting the result of the autopsy findings.
