Woman collapses while worshipping
Family appeals for help to clear hospital bill after surgery
NEGRIL, Westmoreland — The family of a senior citizen who collapsed while worshipping in church two months ago and had to undergo emergency surgery is seeking the public’s assistance in clearing a hefty medical bill left behind at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI).
Sixty-two-year-old Olive Crowl’s relatives sold warm meals to raise funds used to make a $1-million down payment to the hospital. But now they owe $1.5 million for the surgery done last month.
“The children are asking if anybody could reach out and try and help us to gather some funds to go forward,” appealed her 70-year-old husband Lasville Crowl, a retired hotel worker.
Sameta Crowl-Colman explained to the Jamaica Observer that the hospital decided to go ahead with surgery, after a down payment was made, because there was haemorrhaging occurring in her mother’s brain.
“It is best and advisable to have that surgery done within 48 hours of the incident happening. She did not get the surgery done until almost two months later. The incident happened on December 10 and she got the surgery done on January 24. So, we still have the balance of the bill to cover at the hospital,” stated Crowl-Colman.
He said even though his wife is alert and speaking, she has lost some memory and the hope is that she will gradually regain her memory. She is a retired post office worker.
The family’s nightmare all started on December 10 when Olive went to church, as she always does. While worshipping, she reportedly paused to have a drink but things went downhill shortly. She began vomiting, then she collapsed and had to be rushed to Omega Private Hospital in Negril. She was revived and was speaking but due to underlying chronic diseases of hypertension and diabetes, the hospital sought to do a CT scan which indicated that she was haemorrhaging in two sections of the brain.
She was rushed to the Cornwall Regional Hospital in St James where she was comatose for a day. The hospital did a test which confirmed the original diagnosis from Omega. A digital subtraction angiogram (DSA) test done at UHWI on January 9 identified the ruptured vessels. However, the hospital was unable to perform the critical surgery because of a reported lack of specialists who could perform the medical procedure. As a result, Olive was transferred to the UHWI.
With surgery now successfully out of the way, the family has turned its attention to clearing its hospital expenses.
They have planned another warm meal sale which will be hosted at the Square 1 Sports Bar in Orange Hill, Negril, on February 16. The family is asking for the public’s support.
In addition Crowl-Colman, who is currently overseas, has organised several channels where people wishing to offer support can do so. See details below:
NCB NEGRIL – SAMETA CROWL-COLMAN
USD ACCOUNT 604063868
JMD ACCOUNT 604115604
ZELLE (money transfer app): SAMETA CROWL
E-MAIL: ATEMAS1326@YAHOO.COM
E-TRANSFER: SAMETA CROWL-COLMAN
E-MAIL: ATEMAS1326@YAHOO.COM
GOFUNDME LINK:
