Baby Ammon loses battle

After spending one month at the Neonatal Unit of the Port-of-Spain General Hospital, Baby Ammon, who was made a ward of the Family Court earlier this month, died on Sunday at 11.55 pm. His condition over the past few weeks was described as “critical” but stable. He was on a ventilator. Head of the Neonatal Unit, Dr Petronella Manning-Alleyne, yesterday refused to comment on the specifics of the case, only saying, “We didn’t offer a guarantee of life, but the effort to save life.” The baby was born three months premature on November 25 with a low blood count. He and his twin weighed approximately one pound 12 ounces. While his sibling died hours after birth, Baby Ammon rallied.

However, his lungs started to bleed on December 3 and Manning-Alleyne went to the office of the Solicitor General about the case on December 8. As a result, Attorney General John Jeremie granted authorisation for an application to the Family Court. Justice Maureen Rajnauth-Lee made the baby a ward of the court in order for blood transfusions and other treatments to be administered. The court order placed the baby in the custody of doctors at the Neonatal Unit until he fully recovered. The baby’s parents are Jehovah Witnesses who wanted an alternative erythropoietin (EOP) — a drug used in place of a blood transfusion for paediatric cases. Baby Ammon received transfusions with blood and EOP.