Minister of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Senator Dr. the Hon. Dana Morris Dixon today (September 12) visited one of three children severely injured by a boulder in St Elizabeth, following her admission to the Intensive Care Unit at University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) in Kingston.
Two schoolchildren ages nine and ten were badly injured and a third child was treated and released after a boulder fell on them while they were walking to the Merry Wood Primary School, along a train track in Breadnut Walk in north-western St Elizabeth Friday (September 11).
The route along the train tracks is used by residents of Breadnut Walk and Merry Wood to get to and from their homes, as it is a shorter route versus the 3.6-kilometre journey on the community road.
“It’s really really sad. It is three children that got injured, and one is more severely injured than the others and had to be brought from St. Elizabeth to Kingston, to the University Hospital of the West Indies and is now in the ICU getting care,” Senator Morris Dixon told JIS News after visiting the child and her parents at the hospital.
“Her injuries are significant and will take a long time to heal. We are asking all of Jamaica to pray for her [and] pray for her family. Right now, she is in a coma, and so, it is important that we pray and provide as much support as possible,” she added.
Senator Morris Dixon also committed the support of her Ministry, as well as the Ministry of Health and Wellness to the family of all three students.
“This is a route that has been used for a long time, and a lot of children…at the school would have used that route, so they would be traumatized too. So, the Ministry of Education, we are going to be providing support to those children who are also hurting because of what has happened,” she said.
For his part, Deputy Superintendent of Police and Divisional Commander for St. Elizabeth, Coleridge Minto, said that the incident was unfortunate.
“The fact that one sustained that degree of injury, requires all of us to support the family, the institutions, and to ensure that our children will get the best treatment during this time,” DSP Minto told JIS News.
“The other two children involved in this incident, one is still at the Black River Hospital. That child sustained a fractured arm, as well as injury to the skull. The other child was treated and released the same day. We continue to pray for the recovery of all of our children who went through this very difficult ordeal,” he added.
Meanwhile, Head of the Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, UHWI, Dr. Kelvin Metalor told JIS News that the child is being given the highest level of care at the hospital.
“Since the child came here, the child has been attended to and continued to be attended to. It’s extremely high levels of care and we are actually seeing some improvements in the condition of the child. We are happy the child has made some progress, and we hope she continues to make progress,” Dr. Metalor said.
