Belize City police announced Wednesday, August 13, via a press release, that David Alexander Burgess, 17, of 8 T-Street in Port Loyola, died of acute pulmonary edema caused by multiple organ failure as a result of gunshot wounds. This was the result of the post-mortem conducted on Tuesday afternoon, August 12, by Dr. Mario Estradabran, forensic examiner.
Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, however, waited until last Tuesday morning to explain why Burgess had been taken off life support before his death around 11:00 a.m. Monday. Unconfirmed reports were that the Police Department was involved, but this was swiftly discredited by the hospital.
His mother, Curlette Belisle, told Amandala on Monday that she, as the listed next of kin, was never told about the hospital’s decision.
Dr. Khalid Ghazy admitted to WUB hosts Mose Hyde and Kalilah Enriquez that Belisle as the next of kin should have been called, but said the hospital could not find her.
However, KHMH public relations officer Gary Ayuso told Amandala on Wednesday that “family members present at the hospital” on Monday were told before the plug was pulled on Burgess. He did not indicate which family members were told.
KHMH Director of Medical Services, Dr. Khalid Ghazy, called in to the August 12 edition of KREM Radio’s Wake Up Belize Morning Vibes to explain the hospital’s policy.
According to Dr. Ghazy, if a patient like Burgess is “unresponsive to treatment over a 24-hour period,” the patient is considered “brain-dead.” The hospital then reserves the right to consult with family as to whether it would be fair to keep that person on life support.
For context, as we noted in last Monday’s story (see page 2 of issue #2260 dated August 13, 2008), Amandala called the KHMH at 10:00 a.m. Monday to verify Burgess’ condition, and was told that it was serious. But by 12:00 noon Monday, Burgess was dead. He had entered the hospital on Saturday following the shooting in a critical condition.
Contrary to Dr. Ghazy’s assertion on the WUB that there was “no consensus among family members as to whether David should stay on life support,” Belisle says that no family members that she knows of, or family friends, for that matter, were present at the hospital for the KHMH’s announcement. In fact, she said, the first they heard of the decision was from David’s girlfriend, who was told by police on her arrival at the hospital to go to the morgue, as David was already dead.
Her own investigations, Belisle told us from her T-Street home Wednesday evening, netted nothing, as neither of the doctors on call in the ward in which David was housed could give her the answers she feels she deserves.
To Belisle, the results of the post-mortem are reason enough for police to go ahead and charge Mark Vernon, 20, the alleged triggerman in Saturday’s shooting, for murder. Vernon will return to court on August 22 on a manslaughter by negligence charge. Alexander Underwood who was also present, remains a person of interest in the case.
Belisle confirmed to Amandala Wednesday that she will sue the KHMH for medical malpractice.
David’s funeral is set for today, August 18, at St. John’s Cathedral on Albert Street, Belize City.