7 News Belize

Man Knocked Down By Rosewood Truck Calls Out For Help
posted (February 1, 2012)
On January 8th, Punta Gorda Resident Antonio Edwards and his 3-year-old son were returning home from church when a flatbed pickup truck carrying Rosewood barreled around a corner and a length of lumber came flying his way. The lumber struck Edwards on both his legs and broke several bones in different places. His 3 year-old child who he was carrying was flung from off his shoulder, but luckily the toddler escaped unhurt.

Edwards was airlifted from PG to Belize City for treatment at the KHMH. He was given a dress wrapping for the wounds and then sent back home because according to his wife, they cannot afford the surgery, which has been approximated at around $6,000.

Almost a month later Antonio Edwards has returned once again to the KHMH - hoping he can get his surgery done to fix his broken legs. His wife Justina Edwards claims that the owner of the truck that was transporting the rosewood lumber is not helping them financially and the bills keep piling up.

Here's what she told Monica Bodden this morning:

Justina Edwards - Wife of Rosewood Accident Victim
"He was saying that he's given us a lot of money; he got mad that I am asking for help because I know that my husband needs help. He never came through with what he was promising us that he will help and maintain us. To this situation, whenever I am ready to call him, he wouldn't answer. And whenever I get to the Belize Hospital, I wouldn't know what to do in this hospital. I call him whenever it was time for him to go into the emergency room, and he locked his phone. And even though he came here from Belize City, and I told him to come to the hospital, he said that he would come at 4 o'clock. He hasn't reached here. When I went to his house and I told him - when he came over and he got the plane ticket, and we arrived - he dropped $200 on the bed foot, and he said that he would help my husband whenever he is coming back to Belize. Right now, we've come from the PG Hospital emergency room, and the ambulance went and got my husband. They flew my husband because he has fever, and I told them that he told them he has pain. His toes get numb, and he knows when we are coming. He hasn't arrived to speak to us and help us. He knows that everything in Belize is about money, and he hasn't spoken to us since we came to Belize. So I am sitting right here, concerned about what I will do and who I need to speak to. All I want is that if there is something that needs to be done for his legs, I need assistance. While I am waiting for his assistance there has been none. He is saying that he has given me $4,000, and he got mad at me because I put it on PGTV. He told me that if I want to go through court, I will not get anything because I'm poor. They said this morning that the big bone and the small bone broke. In this one, it has the big bone broken from both sides, and that the bone that is crushed, and it broke into pieces, that's the one that is now in 6 pieces. The doctor told me that there is nothing that he could do because even if he operated on it, there is nothing that he can place in there, but he promised to try what he can do tomorrow."

Reporter
"If 10 is the highest number and 1 is the lowest number; a lot of pain would be 10 and hardly any pain will be 1, what number would u give your pain?"

Anthony Edwards - Rosewood Accident Victim
"Well right now it's at 1."

Reporter
"1 right now, and how about when you are at home?"

Anthony Edwards
"about 100."

Reporter
"So, what are they giving to you for the pain?"

Justina Edwards
"I see that they keep giving him injections so, I notice that he sleeps from the time I reach back in Belize City, and I am the one seeing it. I sit down close to him and witness it that he went to sleep. But when he is at home, he doesn't sleep, and the pain was not eased due to the ibuprofen that they gave him from here."

But there are always 2 sides to every story. Today 7news contacted the owner of the pickup truck that was transporting the Rosewood. He is Rodwell Williams, a resident of Jacintoville in the Toledo District. Williams told us he has been assisting the Edwards family from day one but they are just not cooperating with him. He said he had offered to pay the three hundred dollars for the surgery at the KHMH for Edwards, but they simply refused because they want the surgery done at a private hospital which will cost them approximately six thousand dollars for each foot. Williams outlined his dilemma:

Rodwell Williams - Owner of the Truck which Caused the Rosewood Accident - Via Telephone
"Well, I have given them cash. From the time that the accident happened I've been giving them cash. I don't have my books in front of me right now, but roughly I'd say that I gave them about $1,200 in cash, but in other expenses, I totalled it in the past and it came up to over $4,000 in all different types of expenses including the return flight from Belize City, Ambulance which took him to the plane - a lot of different little expenses. I listen to the news and they are saying that I don't help any at all, but what happened - I think - the problem is that the wife of Mr. Edwards, from the day the accident happened, she is the one. Everybody who was there witnessed it. She is one who said, 'This is the day that I'll get rich. Now is my turn to get rich. Mr. Williams has a lot of money, and I will get rich now.' Everybody who was there heard that. So, I think that's her intention. Her intentions are to get as much money as is possible. The surgery - we looked into it, and first we called the doctor who attended to him in Belize City, and he said that there was no need for surgery at the time when he got the injury because the fracture was already closing, so they didn't need to perform a surgery. But Mrs. Justina Edwards insist that the man must get a surgery. She doesn't know why but she just wants the man to get a surgery. She won't feel any better if the many doesn't get a surgery. We sat down and explained to her that the man doesn't need any surgery, but she insisted. The doctors say that when he goes back, they will check him again, and they will tell us if he needs a surgery or not. When I called the hospital, they said $300; that was the cost of the surgery, but Justina wants to go to a private one, which will cost a lot more. I think it will cost about $6,000 for each leg, but she doesn't have to go through private doctors."

This evening we received a press release from the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. It stated and we quote "Antonio Edwards is currently undergoing conservative management of a severe injury(which) is very complex and the options are limited."

The release continues, "He is due to have a second procedure this Friday. This is not an emergency, and once again timing of intervention is very important." End of quote. The release continued by saying that, patients requiring urgent or emergency surgery at the KHMH are not refused their care because of non-payment. In fact, they receive a bill upon being discharged or even after being discharged. Many times, they do not even pay their bills anyway. All major surgeries, including spine or neurosurgery, incur the same standard cost of $300.00 only. The release ends by saying and we quote "regarding Mr. Edwards, at no point money was demanded from the patient. This patient does not require any expensive surgery or implants." End of quote.

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