MARVA PROVERBS is extremely worried about her son’s welfare since he fell 20 feet out of a tree on December 19.
Curtis Lewis suffered a broken collarbone and two broken ribs and has been laid up at his mother’s home since then, awaiting surgery at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH).
But watching her son’s condition deteriorate Proverbs wants to know why he was discharged from the hospital in such a serious condition and why his surgery is being delayed.
“I have to bathe him, clothe him and he cannot walk by himself because he is in a lot of pain,” she said.
Lewis, a well-known juice vendor who sells fruit juices, vegetable juices and boosters on Swan Street, fell out of a golden apple tree and was supposedly unconscious for a while before waking up and realising that he could not move.
His mother said he was taken to hospital by ambulance.
“They gave him two X-rays and found that he had a broken collarbone and two broken ribs,” she said.
“He was in so much pain that they had to put morphine in his drips. The doctor gave him some painkillers and sent him home. I wasn’t looking for them to send him home because of the condition he was in.”
Proverbs, who works in St Lucy, explained that she had to get up early on mornings and tend to her son before going off to work. Her husband, who is retired, also has to travel to Christ Church every day to feed Lewis’ birds and animals.
When her son went back to the hospital for follow-up treatment, he was informed that he required surgery on his collarbone to correct it.
Proverbs said because the collarbone has started to “set”, it has to be broken and a plate inserted.
“They called and gave him a date for January 22, to have the surgery and then called back and said it was cancelled because they had an emergency so he can’t get it done and we have not heard anything since.
“I come to the conclusion that as a poor person you have to stand back and you have to wait but I believe that if you were an upper class person and they had went to their consultant they would have got the surgery done the same time . . .”
Proverbs is praying that her son, who usually displays his exotic bird collection at Agrofest, gets the surgery so that he can get back on his feet.
Apart from the painkillers he also has to inhale into a small device every hour to expand his lungs.
This column is awaiting a response from the QEH.
