Cay Hill:--- The relatives of Ruth Olivacci (62) are peeved at the passing of their loved one who died due to carelessness at the St. Maarten Medical Center on Thursday midday. Sister of the deceased and Member of Parliament Silvia Olivacci Meyers told SMN News that a Dutch specialist operated on her sister on Wednesday to remove a catheter which was placed in the vicinity of her collar bone three weeks ago by Dr. Ferrier. Meyers said her sister was suffering from kidney failure and she needed to take dialysis treatments. Meyers further explained that Ruth was in the hospital for three weeks and she was improving. As a result, the specialist attempted to remove the catheter so that she could go home. "Ruth was a diabetic and her kidneys were failing so she was hospitalized for that purpose."
Meyers said the operation took place around 2pm on Wednesday and while the specialist was removing the medical device, he punctured her main artery. "The doctors called her family and informed us of what had transpired during the operation. They also told us about some of the consequences of a punctured artery. The doctors explained that even though they conducted a second operation to repair the punctured artery, there are possibilities that she could become paralyzed on one side or get a blood clot in her brain. Shortly after the operation, the doctors informed us that what they were trying to avoid is what had happened because Ruth was not able to move her left side."
The distraught sister of the deceased said that her sister was placed in the intensive care unit Wednesday night and up to 9am on Thursday morning she was doing alright because she showed one of her nieces that she could not move her left side. Meyers said that at 11am on Thursday, the doctors and nurses noticed that Ruth was bleeding in the same area where they removed the catheter. "When they saw she was bleeding, they took her to the operating room again and they found another artery that was also damaged during the removal of the catheter. They took my sister into the operating room just after 11am and by 12:30pm she was gone."
The Inspector General of Health, Dr. Earl Best has been informed of the death of Ruth Olivacci and the family has requested an investigation into her death.