Now injured mother loses leg

THE FERGUSON family of King’s Bay, Delaford, is now faced with further distress after 43-year-old Shirley Nimblett-Ferguson, who was seriously injured in the mudslide that claimed the life of her 16-year-old daughter Kathy-Ann, lost one of her legs. A Tobago House of Assembly (THA) official yesterday confirmed that Shirley’s left leg was amputated at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital (POSGH) on Monday. Hospital authorities said the amputation was necessary to save her life. However, angry relatives and friends claim negligence led to the amputation. Newsday was told that it was only discovered last Friday that the woman’s flesh was rotting and the wounds on her feet were surgically cleaned for the first time.

“We only got a call from the hospital yesterday (Monday) saying they had to amputate in order to save her life. And the other one (leg) is 50/ 50!” said the official. Shirley sustained deep lacerations on both legs during the mudslide and was covered in mud. She had been in the Intensive Care Unit at the institution since November 12 and it is alleged the wounds had not been properly treated. Shirley was recently removed from the ICU and the critical list. Last Friday, through the stubborn insistence of a visitor to the ward, who was concerned about a strong foul scent, that the bandages were removed to reveal the rotting flesh. 

Shirley and her six children were buried in a mudslide which crushed the house in which they sought shelter during the severe rainstorm which wreaked havoc in north-east Tobago almost three weeks ago. Kathy-Ann, a student of Bishop’s High School, died on the spot. Kale-Ann, 23, Kershon, 17, and Kurlon, 11, were warded at the Scarborough Hospital. Eight-year-old Kwesi-Ann and the mother were transferred to Trinidad, where Kwesi-Ann remains warded at the Mt Hope’s Children Hospital, and Shirley at the POSGH. Shirley was unable to attend her daughter Kathy-Ann’s funeral on November 23, while wheel-chair-bound Kale-Ann, who is still hospitalised with injuries to both legs, was given special permission to attend under the supervision of a senior nurse.