Shooting victim struggles to recover
It was a murder suicide that shattered a peaceful village and shocked a nation. But the damage which remains in the wake of last week’s bloodbath on the Western Highway, goes beyond a family’s grief. News 5’s Janelle Chanona reports.
Janelle Chanona, Reporting
Today, fourteen-year-old Daisy Figueroa is recuperating at Belize Medical Associates in Belize City after enduring a five-hour surgery on Sunday to remove this shotgun pellet and bone fragments from her spine. Seven more pellets remain in her shoulder. The teen, her father and a friend were all shot six days ago by this man, Anthony Quiroz, supposedly a friend of the family, as they were getting onto a bus near this house in Cotton Tree village. While Daisy’s friend Rene Coc is expected to make a full recovery, her father, Orlando, died the same day he was shot. Patricia Montero Figueroa is now a widow left alone to care for her seven children.
Soila Dominguez, Daisy’s Cousin
“The family is going through hell I think. Nobody expected what happened that day. We were so shocked, I don’t know…this is really rough. Right now the kids she has, the rest are staying at our house. We take care of them and we try to help in anything that we can, any thing.”
It took the Figueroas five days to get Daisy the emergency medical treatment she needed because they were forced to raise a three thousand-dollar down payment towards the cost her surgery.
Paul Guerra, Family Friend
“It was very, very frustrating, almost to the point of losing my cool. If I rubbed anybody the wrong way, I apologise. But my main concern was to get this child the operation which we’ve gotten, but from here we still have an uphill battle to get some rehabilitation for her.”
According to her doctors, the time lapse between injury and treatment could have serious repercussions for the young girl.
Dr. Lisandro Valle, Neurosurgeon
“The fact that she was operated so long after her injury–five days later–created a negative impact on her condition when she should have been operated on right after her accident. Right now, she’s recuperating from surgery and she has little chance of walking normally, but with therapy, her condition will improve. I think it’s important she receives therapy outside, especially one that’s not available in Central America.”
But with medical bills in Belize expected to escalate to more than twenty thousand dollars, the chances of getting Daisy the therapy she needs abroad are slim. The Figueroa family is petitioning the public for assistance and has opened an account at Barclays Bank called the Daisy Figueroa Relief Fund, to accept donations.
Paul Guerra
“We would like to thank B.M.A. They really came through after all for us and Dr. Marcelo Coyi and all the nurses who have been very, very nice and co-operative.”
And in the midst of this tragedy, the family is also trying to fend off disturbing rumours that have emerged after the shooting incident. Reading from a prepared statement, one family member expressed disappointment at the inferences made by one section of the media.
Soila Dominguez
“Mr. Quiroz and Daisy were never lovers. Mr. Quiroz was a friend of the family and never expressed his feelings for Daisy to anyone in our family. My cousin Daisy was nothing to him and was never involved with him.”
Daisy Figueroa will remain hospitalised for another week while her stitches heal. Her family hopes that by then they will be able to move her to another medical facility to begin her therapy.
Soila Dominguez
“I hope that she gets better.”
Reporting for News 5, Janelle Chanona.
The account number for the Daisy Figueroa Relief Fund at Barclays Bank is 753946241. The Figueroa family would also like to thank Dr. Mack Easty of the Seventh U.S. Special Forces unit out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Dr. Easty was instrumental in arranging Daisy’s surgery and assisted Dr. Valle in the operation at no charge.
