Before his death: Seon Grant promised his 2 children he would return

By La’Wanda McAllister

Two children are completely saddened after their world was turned upside down with the death of their father. They were hoping that he would come home so they could enjoy some quality time as they always would but they are now faced with the reality that he is never coming back.

A day before 36-year-old Seon Grant of Lot 36 De Kinderen, West Coast Demerara (WCD), was killed at Nine Miles, Mahdia, Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni), he called and promised his two children that he would be coming home so that they can spend quality time together.
This will no longer be the reality for his 8-year-old son and his 17-year-old daughter, whose hopes were crushed to pieces by the news of their father’s gruesome death.
Grant was stabbed to death by another man, whom he was imbibing alcohol with at a popular drinking spot in the area in the wee hours of Thursday. Both men left the shop around 01:30h on the day in question, and the suspect reportedly ventured off with his brother.
According to reports, the now dead man rode his motorcycle alongside them and accused the suspect of calling him “names”. This eventually turned into a fight during which the suspect, who was armed with a knife, dealt one blow to Grant’s neck and one to the right side of his abdomen. The father was rushed to the Mahdia Regional Hospital where he was treated and hospitalised.
But whilst waiting to be air-dashed to the Georgetown Public Hospital for further medical treatment, the man succumbed to his injuries.
Grant’s two children are mostly affected by his death since they shared a close relationship with him, according to family members. The children are silently grieving and wish for nothing but their father.
“They love him more than anything… he called his son the night before, and he told him that he is coming back and they are going to purchase a motorcycle, and they are going to go fishing. His daughter was planning to come and live with him since she lived with her mom”, his cousin Troy Dopso explained
Wife of the now dead man, Ameella Fontinel, in an interview with Sunday Times Magazine expressed disappointed with Guyana’s healthcare system. She claimed that her husband had to wait for approximately six hours for an emergency evacuation and that there were not sufficient medical supplies in Mahdia to keep him alive.
“Thursday night around 12:38, I got a call that he has been stabbed and he is bleeding bad and they are rushing him to Mahdia Hospital. When he got there, he was still bleeding, they said they can’t control the bleeding and he has to do emergency surgery…they called back and say he is dead”, she explained.
Fontinel said her harsh critique about the hinterland health facilities is not just because of her husband’s death, but also for the other persons who might have lost their lives due to negligence.
“His life could have been saved, he lived six hours just bleeding, they need their own plane and better service… He had to get blood and they didn’t have blood to give him. Everything is at Georgetown Hospital… we need betterment not just for him but for other people in there.”
Grant had been a miner for over 14 years, and had only returned to the interior a month ago after spending time with his family. His wife said she is still trying to process how the fight might have started, since her husband was a very quiet man who avoided fights
The man’s wife said she is still in shock by her husband’s death, and does not know how she will survive without him. She explained that Grant was the breadwinner for their family, and her greatest challenge now is bringing up her eight-year-old son all by herself.
Grant’s family is asking that a thorough investigation be done into his death.
Recently, Guyana’s healthcare system has been receiving harsh criticisms, due to the standards of the local public emergency care. In the past two months, persons have died due to insufficient medical supplies, unavailability of doctors, and health facilities being closed.
The most recent is a South Rupununi, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo), farmer who died after she was rushed to two health centres in the area and they were closed. The woman was bitten by a snake on her farm.