O.W. family desperate for blood for critical accident victim
One week ago we chronicled the sad story of Lydia Rodriguez, the young Orange Walk mother clinging to life at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital following a traffic accident on the Guinea Grass Road. Tonight, Rodriguez remains hospitalised and she needs your help to stay alive.
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
Twenty-six year old Lydia Rodriguez remains in a critical but stable condition in the intensive care unit at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. Rodriguez, who is fully conscious, has had to be mildly sedated to help her deal with the respirator which she must use to breathe. Following five life saving operations, Rodriguez has developed a number of complications, including an infection and fluid in the lungs.
Dr. Pedro Arriaga, Head, Intensive Care Unit, K.H.M.H.
?Now the problem is that she has neurological condition, neurological impairment due to the fact that she has an injury to the cervical spine and we are having problems to remove the machine from her because of an inflammation in the cervical spine, because she is not having enough amount of blood that would help us to improve the transportation of oxygen in the body.?
Rodriguez?s family has kept a constant vigil at her bedside since she was hospitalised almost one month ago. The young mother has been communicating with her loved ones through body movements. Charles Tillett says it is not easy watching his wife in this state, but he knows the presence and contact with loved ones is crucial to Lydia?s recovery.
Charles Tillett, Common-law Husband
?Everyday I come and mind she. Right now I have been here two days di mind she and for me it is really hard.?
Jacqueline Woods
?Are you encouraged by anything that you have been seeing since she was admitted??
Charles Tillett
?I am encouraged, yes. I have never lost the courage.?
Jacqueline Woods
?Are you encouraged by what you are seeing or are you cautiously optimistic about her prognosis??
Dr. Pedro Arriaga
?Well we try to be as optimistic as possible with patients we have in intensive care, because the fact that she is a young patient her condition at this point in time we believe that there is a chance for her to come out of this place. Our concern is her neurological problem, because we believe that probably she will probably have certain degree of incapacity after she comes off of this machine because of the damage she has to the spine. So we are not sure what will be the percent of recovery she will have, if she will be able to walk or what. Based on what we saw and based on the CAT Scans and X-rays we had before, it is hard to say if she will have a hundred percent recovery.?
The family is desperately appealing to the public to donate blood. According to Rosita Pasos, her daughter is scheduled to undergo another operation where doctors will insert a tube in the throat so that Lydia can breathe without the assistance of a machine. Rodriguez was scheduled to receive the surgery on Thursday, but she was too weak to undergo the procedure.
Rosita Pasos, Mother
?We have to have a big faith because she is really ill. I don?t know how she will make it up.?
Hipolito RodrÃguez, Uncle
“The only thing we can do right now is pray a lot and beg people to do the same for her so she can get better soon.?
On March nineteenth, Lydia celebrates her twenty-seventh birthday. Today, her loved ones have only one wish.
Rosita Pasos
?Sometimes we see an improvement [and] afterwards she just fall back. The night before they called me and tell me that she fall, high fever and she needs more blood, so I noh know.”
Hipolito RodrÃguez
?We just wish the public could help and blood donations is the most essential part.?
The Rodriguez family has incurred substantial medical expenses and asks anyone willing to donate towards Lydia’s recovery to do so at Belize Bank account number 695-2223-9396 or call Hipolito Rodriguez at cell phone number 600-6661. On February seventh, Rodriguez was hitch-hiking to Orange Walk town when she was flung from the back of a pickup truck. She was eight months pregnant at the time. Doctors were able to save the baby, and family members have decided not to name the little girl … hoping that Lydia will be able to do so one day soon.
