NCRHA denies surgery will help boy, 5

Officials from the North Central Regional Health Authority (NCRHA) this afternoon denied claims that surgery was possible for five-year-old Amani McIntyre, who almost drowned at a river on Saturday.

They said no request had been made by either the Sangre Grande Hospital or the Mt Hope General Hospital for the child to be transferred.

Speaking with Newsday on Monday, an official said there was no treatment available for drowning and denied it was possible for surgery to repair the child's brain damage.

"I don't know who told them (McIntyre's relatives) that it was possible for someone to be treated for drowning, but that's not true.

"What I understand is the child spent a little too much time underwater and received some brain damage as a result of that.

"But it seems the family is still trying to hold out hope for a recovery.

"There hasn't been any request from the Eastern Regional Health Authority to the NCRHA for a transfer or to prepare for any kind of treatment for the child."

Newsday spoke to the boy's grandmother, Marissa Callendar, who insisted the idea of treatment and recovery came from one of the doctors treating Amani. She is still holding out hope that he can pull through.

She said, "They said the longer he takes to get the surgery, the slimmer his chances will be of surviving. The surgery can only be done at the Mt Hope Hospital, but the doctors said they don't have a bed available for treatment after the surgery, so they won't be able to move him until one is available.

"One of his doctors and the registrar told me that they were trying to get him warded for treatment, but said there weren't any beds available for post-surgery treatment."

Contrary to earlier reports, Callendar said the family did not go to a river lime but were instead at a waterpark when Amani did not resurface on Saturday.

Lifeguards found the boy unresponsive and tried to resuscitate him with CPR. He was taken to the Sangre Grande Hospital, where he has been warded ever since.