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How do people cope after the event
Parents of newborn Legionnaire's victims recount their pain
By Jacqueline Theodoulou
ONE MOTHER from a group of three women who lost their newborns to Legionnaire's disease, spends all day at the cemetery asking God why her baby was taken from her, deputies heard yesterday.
“When a mother states that she is on maternity leave from her work and spends all day in the cemetery, I feel. Besides offering our sympathy, we all have a duty to demand a full investigation into this crime,” Green Party deputy George Perdikis said.
Perdikis was speaking after a closed session of the House Health Committee, which heard from the parents of the three infants whose deaths occurred over the New Year.
The Committee was examining where the responsibility lay for the death of the three infants from a group of 11 newborns who contracted the disease at the Hippocration private clinic in Nicosia.
It also emerged during the session that these were the first-ever recorded incidents of Legionnaire's Disease among infants anywhere in the world.
“An extreme crime against life has been committed; a crime against human dignity and unfortunately from what we have seen today, we are heading towards an even bigger unpunished crime,” Perdikis said.
He said his conclusion from yesterday's meeting was that the state was dragging its feet in investigating the affair.
“The parents reported today that nobody has come to ask for a statement from some families, none at all. From others they have spoken to just one member of the family, as if this involved just any investigation,” he said.
“It seems there will be no real investigation and those who are guilty of this huge crime could go unpunished.”
The committee has asked the government to prepare a treatment programme for the babies that survived because no one knows what side effects they will suffer.
Committee Chairman Eleni Theocharous of DISY said, “What comes out of this meeting is that nobody in this country wants a repetition of this phenomenon in the future. The Health Committee has committed to doing everything in its power and whatever it takes through legal procedures, to ensure this never happens again”.
Theocharous said the state's psychological services were completely absent during the parents ordeal. “And it is not the first time that the state has been exposed. It doesn't even have a fig leaf to sufficiently cover such matters and it is with the deepest sadness that we have noted that no progress has been made on this matter,” she added.
The DISY deputy underlined the urgent need for law changes so that it was not left to the individual clinics to ensure health and safety regulations. “This concerns the state, which must have the sole responsibility in matters that concern hospitals, whether they are public or private.”
Child Commissioner Leda Koursoumba said the state had an obligation to determine what should have been done and what wasn't done in this particular case.
The parents and these children that survived need lifelong support by the state; they need observation and constant medical care,” she said.
DIKO's Angelos Votsis said the parliamentary Committee had not taken the matter lightly. For this reason, he said, it had prepared a letter that would be sent to the Health Ministry and the Attorney-general, asking to be continuously updated on the criminal investigation currently underway.
The letter will also demand immediate psychological support for the affected parents, as well as the preparation of a bill amending health regulations.
Yesterday's was the second meeting of the Health Committee to discuss the Legionnaire outbreak at the Hippocration.
The State Lab's initial probe showed that the legionnaire bacteria had spread through the unit through a humidifier used during the childbirths. This humidifier, it emerged, was not for public use. Deputies said they were committed to doing everything humanely possible to prepare legal framework that will avert a recurrence.
Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2009
A selection of comments posted on the http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Legionnaires_diseaze_support_group/
Posted by Connie
This is a terrible disease which takes over your entire body. It is a slow moving torture. I had pnuemonia, asthma, memory loss, vertigo. sinus problems, allergies. swelling, rashes, and now a stroke all from :LD. Doctors keep telling me this is a rare disease we will learn its effects togehter. Well the doctors are learning but I am the one who is still sick and getting worse.
Posted by Fel
Hair loss was one of the reasons why my Doc ran a thyroid test. Mine started to fall out 3 months after catching LD. Thyroid replacement worked and my hair is pretty well back to normal - coarse and thick!! Get your Doc to check your thyroid levels. Other problems I've had include increased deafness which "expert" has put down to LD toxins and incapacitating back pain that "expert" thinks may have been due to immobility during and after LD. Most Docs seem to see LD as a respiratory problem only and don't seem to connect other post LD health problems to LD. Thank goodness I don't suffer confusion (debatable says my husband) or increased memory loss. Great site Great people will spread the word to my fellow Coach tour sufferers.
Posted by CLIFF
HI 13 MONTHS AFTER THE LD I FEEL A LOT BETTER STILL GET OUT OF BREATH EASY AND LOSS OF MEMORY BUT HAPPY TO BE ALIVE.
Posted by Corey Nolan
28 year old from Indiana, contracted Legionella from water on a fire truck while working on tank. Been tired for more than 3 months now, how long will the weekness last?
Posted by Linda Baku
I contracted LD April 2005 and am in the acute recovery phase. I was hospitalized for eight days and went through three doctors and an unnecessary surgery before the correct diagnosis was made. I would like to know if anyone has heard of any recent cases in Puerto Vallarta Mexico and if there is any way to have the resort I stayed at test or held accountable. In researching this, there were many practices there that would have been conducive to Legionnella overgrowth and spread.
Posted by Ang
I came out of hospital 2 weeks ago after contracting L.D. while on holiday in France/Italy. Although I am recovering really well now I am constantly exhausted. I wake up tired and I go to bed tired. I have read that fatigue and weakness can last for ages...I really hope not! L.D. is nasty. I have a lost about 10 days where I can only remember bits & pieces.
Still , I'm getting there, at least i survived.
Posted by steve brain
I am recovering from nearly dying of it last year and am left with slight brain injury from being hypoxic. I also have a permanent pain in the right side of my head. I would wlcome news from anyone on how to cope.I had complications from the word go which have never gone - particularly permanet severe head pain,cramps. chronic fatigue, memory loss, confusion, lack of concentration andthe expected breathing problems. No-one can offer any help as it is so rare and it all gets very frustrating.
Posted by dorothy
It isn't easy. I've been out of the hospitol for seven monthes and still have acute memory loss. And sometimes can't get the words out right or remember the most simple things. Last week I read a recipe and instead of spraying the cooking spray on the pan I sprayed it in the bowl. I lost clumps of hair and have chronic fatigue, sometimes I feel like it was yesterday since I was sick. They don't have a lot going for them on LD. I finally steered him to this sight to read all the things that I have. I'm only the second case he has ever seen.
Posted by Terry Gilmour
I had LD, ARDS and stroke while on ventilator. 4 weeks on vent in coma. It's been 2 and a half years and I still have problems with both confusion and memory loss.
Notice to you all
If you have survived or have a story to add and wish to contribute to this part of my web site, please drop me a line on my email and I will post it on this site. The more we know, the more we can fight the ignorance. Pass this site on to others.