His mother, Oneica Stewart, told Stabroek News that her son, Odeon Cort, was flying the kite in the school yard with some other students when the string burst. The kite became stuck on the water tank and the child decided to climb up and get it.
However, he slipped and fell to the ground and was badly hurt in the process. He also started to bleed from his mouth and nose.
Stewart, a single mother, was told that students of Grade Six rushed to his assistance and lifted him to the head teacher’s office. He was then taken to his classroom and he told the students that he wanted to “lie down.”
The woman said that around 11.20 am she received a telephone call from the child’s class teacher, who said that her son fell and hurt himself and “she ask me if ah gon come or not.”
She said she went to the school immediately and realised that her son was in an unconscious state. She also noticed that no teacher was there but a lot of students had crowded the child who was still bleeding. Some of the students were fanning him and trying to wipe the blood off his face.
Stewart said she rushed her child to the Skeldon Hospital and he was immediately transferred to the New Amsterdam Hospital where he spent two days. She said a scan would have to be done to his head to determine the extent of his injuries.
She told this newspaper that by the time she got to the school the lunch break had started and Odeon’s teacher had left. She learnt too that the teacher did not assist him after he fell and she has not gone to visit him since.
The woman was upset too that the teacher only contacted her about 20 minutes after the incident. She said because of all the time that had elapsed she would have been satisfied if the teacher had taken the child to the hospital and then called her.
According to the parent, the students had completed their tests the day before and the teacher allowed them to go out and play.
The child whose hands are in cast is suffering from severe pain and Stewart said she has to do “everything for him.”
She said Odeon performs well in school and she is worried that he may not be able to write the upcoming National Grade Four Assessment exams.
Meanwhile she said no ambulance was available to take him to the New Amsterdam Hospital and she had to hire a taxi. She has also undergone a lot of travelling and other expenses since the incident.
This newspaper understands that the ambulance was not available because it had just left with a student from the Skeldon Primary School, who suffered injuries to his eye after another student stuck him with a pencil.
This newspaper attempted unsuccessfully to obtain a comment from the head teacher of the Corriverton Primary School.
