26th of January, 2022. Region 9, Guyana, South America
Last updated: January 26, 2022 at 11:51 am
A Guyanese man has taken to social media to express his sadness, anger, and frustration over the unfortunate and untimely death of his son – a death which, he says, could have been prevented if the hospitals were competent enough, as they should be, to handle the situation.
On the 17th of October, 2021, then 6 year-old Mc Leano Markus Martindale was bitten by a rattle snake at Tiger Pond in the North Rupununi Savannas of Guyana, South America. The child’s aunt reportedly rushed him to the Tiger Pond Health Center which was reportedly unable to treat him and sent him off to the Karasabai Health Center which was also unable to treat him for the rattle snake bite.
In an interview with this publication, the boy’s father, Mr. Randolph F Martindale, said that he was in the Marudi Gold Mining Mountains in the South Rupununi at the time when the incident occurred. He related that his son, after failing to receive treatment at Karasabai and Tiger Pond, was rushed out with an ATV to Lethem where he was admitted at the Lethem Regional Hospital where he died at around 10: 48 PM on the evening of October 17th, 2021.
Naturally heartbroken by the death of his son, Mr. Martindale hopes that such an incident will not repeat itself, and that no other child should die because of a snake bite in the Rupununi Savannahs of Guyana. He is calling on the Ministry of Health and all relevant authorities to equip all medical outposts in the Rupununi Savannahs to handle snake bites, and also have trained staff ready for these emergencies.
Indeed, it is mind boggling and unfortunate that the Health Centers in an environment so prolific with snakes as the Rupununi Savanahs are unprepared to treat a snake bite on the spot.
Team Guyana, South America joins Mr. Martindale in his call for the Ministry of Health to outfit all hospitals and health centers across Guyana with equipment and trained staff to treat snake bites on the spot. While this should be an essential feature of all hospitals and health centers, it should be especially pronounced in interior regions of Guyana such as Region 9 where snakes are more prolific and snake bites are more likely to occur.
