3 months ago
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Even as Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar ordered an urgent investigation into the death of six-year-old Jasher Francois yesterday, his parents rejected the results of the autopsy conducted at the San Fernando mortuary.
As such, the child’s grieving parents, Yhnique, 32, and Aaron Francois, 34, have arranged for a second autopsy to be performed today by Dr Hubert Daisley and have already requested all their son’s medical records, including those from a previous hospital admission last year for a similar condition.
The autopsy listed his death as aspiration pneumonitis, likely due to viral pneumonia.
Hours after Jasher’s death at the San Fernando Teaching Hospital on Thursday, his parents took to social media, demanding an investigation and encouraging the public to share and like the video in support of their quest for justice with the hashtag #JusticeForJasher.
The video went viral, garnering thousands of likes and shares, and attracted the attention of the Prime Minister, South West Regional Health Authority (SWRHA) officials and Health Minister Dr Lackram Bodoe.
The parents said Jasher was alert, speaking and “normal” until he was put on an IV. Within ten minutes, they said, he was dead.
“My son wasn’t taken away, he was snatched away from me at just six years old,” lamented his mother yesterday during a heartrending interview at their San Fernando home.
On Wednesday, she took Jasher to the hospital after receiving a referral letter from the Roy Joseph Health Centre. He had had a dry cough since Sunday, and they did not want to take any chances because last October, he had been treated at the hospital for a chest infection.
According to the parents, Jasher had no other symptoms — no fever, vomiting, or signs of respiratory distress — but his oxygen level was in the 90s, prompting doctors to monitor him overnight and administer oxygen and nebulizer treatments.
He was eventually admitted to the Paediatric Ward after 12 am.
“There was no alarm, no anxiety or anything that said your child is in critical condition and he may die. There was nothing like that,” she recalled tearfully.
She said the following morning, a senior doctor told her it was flu season and many children were coming in with similar symptoms.
Yhnique’s impression was that she would be taking her son home later that day. She then left the hospital to go home to prepare Jasher’s favourite vegetable — broccoli. When her husband arrived at the hospital sometime after 7 am, he said Jasher was “normal.” He was on the nebulizer and an IV was attached to his hand. The father said the doctor told them they were going to administer his son antibiotics.
But shortly after a nurse injected a medication through the IV, Jasher began reacting adversely.
Recalling the heartbreaking ordeal, he said Jasher complained, “Da, da, my hand burning,” and started crying frantically. He also vomited.
Francois said the nurse told him the medication was magnesium sulfate.
When she stopped the IV, Jasher returned to normal. Francois said his son stood up as he changed his clothes and was “talking normal.”
When the nurse returned, she told Francois Jasher’s reaction was normal and restarted the medication.
Despite Jasher’s pain and discomfort, he said the nurse assured him it was okay to leave it in.
Jasher vomited three times, again begged to go home, and then “fell asleep.”
In hindsight, Francois realised that his son was not sleeping but was dying.
Shortly afterwards, another nurse advised him to adjust Jasher into an upright position on the bed. The father pushed him but got no response.
“I still thinking he sleeping. It is the nurse who pick up on it now and notice that he was unresponsive and start to vigorously shake him up and raise the alarm.”
He said several doctors rushed to the bedside and tried to resuscitate Jasher but it was too late.
Yhnique received a frantic call from her husband that “they kill” their son, but by the time she got to the ward her son was dead.
Expressing outrage at the lack of empathy shown by some medical staff during the resuscitation attempts, Yhnique said one doctor complained that he was in discomfort and should not have done “legs” (exercises) on Wednesday.
The parents, who also have a seven-year-old son, said they will be seeking legal redress.
“A lot of medical professionals have reached out to us and they said this drug was not supposed to be done without proper supervision, especially for a six-year-old child.”
In a statement yesterday, the Health Ministry said the Prime Minister had instructed a full investigation into the matter. It said Minister Lackram Bodoe took immediate steps to initiate the investigation to ensure all relevant facts are gathered swiftly and transparently.
In the release, both the Prime Minister and Health Minister extended their condolences to the Francois family, adding that they recognise the profound pain of losing a child and extending wishes for comfort and resilience during their time of grief.
In an earlier statement, the South West Regional Health Authority assured a formal case review of the care and management of the patient was underway and the findings will be fully disclosed to the parents upon completion. The authority said counselling and support services had been made available to the parents.
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