Although much could not have been done for Ricardo Bynoe, who has had a tumour growing in his nasal cavity since 2004, when he visited the US Naval hospital ship recently, efforts are being made by a doctor on the vessel to get the lad to the US for surgery.
When the Comfort Ship anchored here on September 24 many expected relief from medical problems and even medical bills. And nearly 10,000 persons benefited from the medical services provided by the ship which left these shores some two weeks ago.
Ricardo’s mother Michelle Arthur said that she only became aware that the ship was here when she received a call from an official from the US Embassy inviting her to take her son to see the medical staff.
Michelle said that after her son (who is now 15) was examined she was told that they couldn’t do much because of all the high tech equipment and medical personnel that would be needed to do the surgery.
However, she said an MRI scan was done and she was told to take it back to the doctor for it to be explained to her.
She said that before she left the ship, the medical personnel there told her that they would look into her son’s case and see what they could do to help.
Michelle told Stabroek News on Tuesday that a doctor from the hospital ship visited her home last week and examined her son with assistance from a nurse.
She said that the female doctor told her that when she gets back to the US she would try to find the right group of doctors to deal with the operation.
The doctor, Michelle said, asked for two to three weeks to do this and at the end of this time she would be told what progress had been made.
With a sense of relief in her voice, the single parent mother said “with this I have been given a bit of hope.” She said that in case she gets through, at least she has money for the airfare in the bank.
Since Michelle started her public campaign for the $4M needed to do the surgery, the response has not been that good. Although several business owners and public-spirited persons have come forward, Ricardo has a little under half a million dollars in the bank account set up for him.
Michelle said that since she was finding it difficult to raise the sum she has been exploring all avenues to find a low-cost operation.
She told this newspaper on Tuesday that although she has some hope in the doctor from the Comfort Ship, she still needs the public’s assistance in the event that things don’t work out.
Prior to this interview, Michelle had described the public appeals as a painful and frustrating process.
Meanwhile, Ricardo continues to have nose bleeds and vomits blood as his condition gets worse. Michelle told this newspaper that her son continues to bleed through his nose and it is beginning to worry her. She added that she is losing sleep over it. Because of his condition, Ricardo sometimes finds it very difficult to breathe, so he has to do so through his mouth.
Although, he is in tremendous pain sometimes, all Michelle can do is give him pain killers but he is not on any other medication.
Recently he told his mother that whenever he swallows, he feels as though the tumour is moving down his nose. He sometimes feels pain when he chews.
Ricardo attended St. Mary’s Annex and had to drop out of school because of his medical condition termed juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma (JNA).
She said that when he was diagnosed last year an MRI, which was done at a cost of US$1,000 in Barbados, showed that the tumour growing in his naval cavity was already spreading. She had also said that after the diagnosis the doctor had advised her to get Ricardo to London urgently to get the operation done.
Those persons who may wish to help Ricardo can contact his mother on 621-0964 or a donation can be made to Scotia Bank account number 275-117.
