Mabaruma toddler succumbs after being stung by scorpion
A two-year-old has died after being stung by a scorpion at Mabaruma and his family believes that his life could have been saved if the local hospital was equipped to treat him.
Two-year-old Romero Lucian died on Wednesday while being transported to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH). A post-mortem examination has confirmed the cause of his death to have been respiratory failure.
The two-year-old’s aunt, Paula Lucien, told Stabroek News that the child was stung at his Kobarimo Hill, Mabaruma home. She said his mother dressed him in a pair of pants she took from a clothes line and he told her that he had been stung.
Lucian related to Stabroek News that although the mother would have dusted the pants after removing it from the line, subsequent checks uncovered the scorpion.
She went on to say that the child was immediately taken to the hospital in Mabaruma, where he was administered saline and oxygen and given medication to stop the vomiting. “His mom took him to the hospital and they got there by 8 on Wednesday morning, but when they got there all the hospital gave him was saline and gravel for the vomiting and oxygen,” Lucian said.
The woman went on to say that the child’s mother was told to take him home and return to the hospital within an hour so that he could be transported to Georgetown via airplane. They were told that an airplane was expected in Mabaruma around 12pm so the child could have been taken to Georgetown. However, they were only able to transport him to Georgetown until later in the afternoon.
Lucian stated that after the two-yearold and his mother arrived at Ogle Airport, they had to wait for an ambulance to take them to Georgetown Hospital. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the GPH.
The family feels that if the medication to treat the sting was available at the hospital, Romero’s life could have been saved.