Hospitals contact Paramin man for knee surgery

Several public hospitals contacted Stephon Samuel on Tuesday to help and advise the 27-year-old on his medical needs.

Newsday reported on Tuesday that Samuel, of Paramin, was in desperate need of a knee replacement and unable to walk on his own.

Without the knee replacement, he has been told, he may have to have his left leg amputated.

Samuel’s mother Dianne Constantine-Halls spoke to Newsday on Tuesday to say the family has been contacted by representatives from the Couva, Port of Spain General and Mt Hope hospitals.

He is expected to have a 3D scan on his knee done at Mt Hope on Wednesday.

In February last year, Samuel slipped and fell in his yard and hurt his knee. After he was taken to the Port of Spain General Hospital, an X-ray revealed a mass on his left knee.

An MRI scan revealed the mass was a giant cell tumour. In April 2019, doctors removed the tumour and did a bone cement graft.

Two months into physical therapy after the surgery, the graft shifted, and doctors told him he needed a full knee replacement, which could not be done in Trinidad.

But Samuel’s mother said a representative from Couva called on Tuesday and told the family the scan could be done at Mt Hope.

“She said, ‘Ma'am, it is in the hands of the relevant authorities now, so we will do the scan,’” said Constantine-Halls.

The family said Samuel was supposed to have a scan at the Couva hospital, but when he contacted the hospital in April, he was told the machine was down and the hospital was not taking on any additional cases owing to the covid19 pandemic.

But Newsday received a release from the North Central Regional Health Authority on Tuesday which said it had not received a referral for Samuel to have any radiology service or scan done at the Couva hospital.

"For any patient to have any radiology services performed at the CHMF (Couva Hospital and Multi-Training Facility), a referral is required from the External Patient Partnership (EPP) Programme of the Ministry of Health," said the statement. Only then are patients given an appointment for radiology tests.

The statement said an inquiry was done and Samuel's documentation, which was still at the Ministry of Health, was retrieved.

So, said the release, "Mr Samuel was contacted and will have his scan done at the Eric Williams Medical Science Centre at 1.15pm on Wednesday."

While the family is happy that the health authorities have now taken an interest, Samuel's mother hopes it does not dwindle over time, as he still needs the surgery urgently.

“I just hope they keep it up and it’s not just today (they call us) because it is in the paper.”

A quality co-ordinator from Port of Spain General Hospital also contacted Samuels to discuss his admission to the hospital in February 2019.

Constantine-Halls said the one thing the family has not received is detailed information as to what exactly caused the graft to shift, leading to Samuel needing the knee replacement.

“Never. They never explained how the graft shifted,” she said. “We applied for the medical (record) since last year October and we only received it in January (or) February. When we asked (the hospital) for it, they said they couldn't find his file.”

She said the family has not checked to see if monetary donations have come into Samuel's account, but they were also contacted by a man from Couva who offered to supply him with medication.