Almost dead teen stuns doctors

According to reports, Adolphus Birche of Abepoujade Street, Carenage was bathing with friends at Alcoa Carenage at about 2.30 pm on Sunday when he got into difficulties.

Officers of the Carenage Police Station were alerted that a man was seen in distress in waters at Alcoa and police constables Benjamin and Williams were able to pull Birch from the water to the shore where they attempted CPR.

However, during the process Birch was unresponsive and did not appear to have a pulse.

He was rushed to the St James infirmary and then transferred to the PoS General Hospital (PoSGH). While at PoSGH doctors were unable to find a pulse and while one doctor was about to declare Birch dead, he decided to do a final check for a pulse and discovered a weak pulse.

The shocked doctor, who had already alerted attendants to remove the body to the mortuary, instead told attendants to take Birch to the Intensive Care Unit where he was placed on a respirator and attempts made to save the teen’s life.

Relatives of Birche yesterday described his will to live as amazing and also believed that it was divine intervention which caused Birche to still be alive today. Yesterday, they continued prayers for his complete recovery.

Relatives thanked the officers who assisted Birche and the doctor who saw it fit to carry out the final check before removing Birche to the mortuary.

Another relative, who identified herself as an aunt, said she had been taking care of Birche for a very long time and described him as an excellent swimmer. She said she had no idea why he would have found himself in difficulty while bathing on Sunday but told Newsday, “we are keeping our fingers crossed, I am unable to tell his grandmother about the incident because I am sure that it will affect her badly and we are trying to keep this information from her, but we are hoping that my nephew pulls through so that he could realise his dream of becoming a welder”.

She said Birche, who is a student, is a good person with a bright future and she is hoping that with all the prayers being recited for his recovery, he will be able to beat the odds.