Disappointed by the outcome of the surgical procedure to repair parts of her fingers blown off by an exploding scratch bomb, Sally-Ann Cuffie is now pleading with the authorities to send her abroad for reconstructive plastic surgery.
The Las Lomas woman also chastised the Government for its inability to ensure that a banned product, namely the scratch bomb which exploded in her hands causing grievous injuries and an uncertain future, is sold in this country.
Cuffie, who is undergoing a slow, painful recovery at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, at Mt Hope, said what she has seen is a far cry from what she expected her fingers to look like after the surgery. “Maybe I look at too much doctors show on TV (television), so I was expecting to see something neat and complete, but when the nurses removed the bandage what I saw was not what I expected. I eh see no difference and to besides, I feeling like something sticking me and when you touch it, it is paining me,” she said from her hospital bed yesterday.
The woman lost parts of her fingers and suffered injuries to the others when she attempted to save her grandchild by throwing out the scratch bomb which was thrown into her family’s car on Divali night. The scratch bomb exploded in her hands. None of the other occupants was injured. No one has been held so far for this crime.
Cuffie also complained about the poor bedside manners of some of the nursing staff as well as staff shortages which often leave her and other patients waiting for lengthy periods before they can be attended to. “Right now I am waiting for my pain killers, but there is only one nurse on duty,” she said.
She also spoke of a horrible experience earlier this week when a student nurse was sent to dress her hands. “When she came to remove the bandages, I expected to feel pain, but the student nurse just ripped off the bandages and when I cried out she told me what I expect, I have to bear the pain. “But this morning they sent another student nurse and although I still felt the pain when she was dressing me, she was gentle, she took her time.”
In spite of that experience, Cuffie said she is grateful for what staff at Mt Hope have done and are doing for her. She said in spite of this, she would like the Government, in addition to compensating her for her loss of earnings, to send her abroad for surgery.
“ I wish 100 per cent that could happen so I could have proper use of my hands again,” said Cuffie who is employed as a security guard and dabbles in art and craft to support her income. Taking a turn at the Government she is calling on for help, Cuffie asserted, “It is not my fault I am in here. This is not something that happened because of a natural disaster. This happened because of something that has been banned in this country. This is something illegal and I don’t think I should have to pay the penalty for the Government not doing their work to make sure it is banned and not sold in this country.
“People selling these scratch bombs all over the place and nobody doing anything about it. I think for this reason Government ought to compensate me.”
Cuffie said in addition to the pain keeping her up, she is spending sleepless nights contemplating her future.
“I have been in here since October 29 and I don’t know when I will be discharged. Everything I have is utilising and my interest at Eastern Credit Union just keeps going up.”