Family seeking explanation from hospital over boy’s death

By JINA AMBA
THE family of a 14-year-old boy who died after undergoing an eye surgery at the Port Moresby General Hospital last week are seeking an explanation from the hospital management on what went
wrong.
Benjamin Wanzing told The National that his son Rex had a growth on his left eye (corneal disease) and was admitted for surgery.
The parents are from Morobe and Central.
Mother Raela, who was with him in hospital, said Rex went into the operating theatre on Aug 12, but had breathing difficulty when he was wheeled out.
He died on Friday.
Raela said the doctor had told her that Rex’s lungs collapsed because he had opened his eyes during the operation and was “shocked”.
She said when Rex was wheeled out after the operation, his temperature was so high and he was breathing heavily.
The parents said they tried to get a doctor to check on Rex’s condition but none were available.
They said there was only one nurse there.
“My son fought for his life (for) hours until he succumbed to his death,” Benjamin said.
“Our son was just 14.
“He had a long way to go.
“We trusted the public health system (and) this is the injustice we get.
“The Health Department is not assisting the family.
“We wanted to get the postmortem done, but they are not giving us all the information we need.”
Rex was in Grade 7 at the Carr Memorial Primary School.
He was the second youngest in a family of four.
Port Moresby General Hospital chief executive officer Paki Molumi said Health secretary Dr Osborne Liko was going to release a statement on the case.