Burn victim treated thanks to good samaritans
While Belize struggles to improve the level of health care, the one eventuality that the system finds difficult to deal with is that of a catastrophic accident. Fortunately when all hope seems lost, there are some good folks and organisations ready to step forward.
Ann-Marie Williams, Reporting
It is every child’s dream to go to the United States for the first time to see the sights and have some fun. But for seven-year old Emanuel Olivarez of Caledonia Village in Corozal, his first trip is anything but fun. He’s on his way to Shriner’s Burn Hospital in Galveston, Texas to receive treatment for second and third degree burns to his body, he received on Friday in his backyard. Joel Olivarez recounts what happened to his son.
Joel Olivarez, Emanuel’s Father
“We use gasoline for the lawnmower and we have it a corner of the house. But you how little children are… so he stayed alone and he went to get it and went where we had just burnt the trash. He said that he was just trying to pour it in the fire, and you know gasoline is very explosive. So I just think that as he went to throw it in the fire the gasoline exploded. That’s the only way I think he got burnt.”
Emanuel caught the attention of Yvette Burks. Yvette is known as the founder of an ambulance service, but she’s also very much involved in charitable work, largely because her own daughter was a burn victim almost a decade ago.
Yvette Burks, Heads, Burn Fund
“Mostly they have to have the space to accept them, but also, depending on how severely burn the child is, they have to prioritize because we’re not the only place that is sending children to them. Today in fact, I think we have a plane in Salvador picking up a child.”
Ann-Marie Williams
“How is the medical attention free?”
Yvette Burks
“Shriner’s gives everything free, they are amazing. They get a lot of donations and stuff, I guess through their church. In fact, I recently saw on a website that they never ever ask for blood donations, they get it from within themselves.”
And for the most part, she has to get the money from within the lining of her pocket. However, she says that situation is changing with the help of a few concerned business people.
Yvette Burks
“Right now I am paying the ambulance plane just under twenty-thousand dollars and then I’m going to go to every business house I can think of and beg them to help me to replace that money. I have a fund by the name of “Burn Victim Mercy Fund”, which was established I think in 1998. So I can go to the Belize Bank and ask them please give me a U.S. draft to pay, then I personally guarantee it, and I pray to God I’ll find enough money to put it back, so I don’t have to end up being stuck with the bill.”
“G.A. Roe and Sons already donated two thousand dollars, and interestingly enough Chris Roe is a friend of mine and he donated a thousand before the emergency and since then another thousand. I’ve gotten calls out of San Pedro from Tropic Air, Ramon’s Village, several of the resorts out there apparently heard because the daddy works in San Pedro, so I’m quite gratified by that. Social Security I believe will help a little bit. I plan to ask the Ministry of Health for at least a little. And usually if somebody gives twenty dollars, or if they give a thousand, at the end of the day God has always been good to me and we’ve always been able to cover the costs.”
Irma Aguilar has flown down from Shriner’s on the air ambulance to prepare Emanuel for his flight.
Irma Aguilar, Nurse, Shriner’s Hospital
“We’ll probably decide to take him to surgery tomorrow. We’ll excise all the burn wounds and put either his own skin autograph or cadaver skin, which is homographed. We’ll completely cover his wounds by tomorrow in surgery.”
Ann-Marie Williams
“What’s his chances of survival? Pretty good?”
Irma Aguilar
“His chances of survival are pretty good and it is of course… I’m still hesitant to say anymore because I haven’t fully evaluate his wounds.”
And after a while his father will also be able to evaluate his son’s wounds as Shriner’s prides itself on training parents to care for their children upon their return home.
Irma Aguilar
“The parent will be taught how to do wound care if there are some small open areas left, they will be required to know how to dress those wounds. They will be required to learn how to provide the appropriate rehabilitation that includes maybe applying splints. They will basically become the private nurse and private therapist for their child and we do thorough training for that. They start training the day they arrive at the hospital, by observing. As soon as the patient is better, they start by providing all that care in front of another nurse who checks them off as they go.”
Burks says the air ambulance is costing a twenty thousand dollar fortune.
Yvette Burks
“The reason it’s so little… it should really be about twenty-eight to thirty thousand Belize dollars. The reason that it’s that much less is because the Shriner Hospital sends their own flight nurse, paramedic and doctors as needed, and their own equipment. That saves us about four to five thousand U.S. dollars.”
Irma Aguilar
“The only problem of course, I funding for air transportation. We are very fortunate to have Shriner’s Burn Hospital for Children cover all the costs while the patient’s in the hospital. But as you know, the transportation costs can be very, very high, easily ten thousand dollars for one trip and that’s just for the Lear jet. Shriner’s covers the cost of the nurses. But through Mrs. Burks who is so wonderful, she’s able to get this money so that we can come here. We could not be here if it was not for Mrs. Burks and her organisation.”
Ann-Marie Williams for News 5.
Burks is encouraging Belizeans to contribute to the “Burn Victim Mercy Fund” at the Belize Bank Limited. The account number is 5052111.
