Chef de Mission at the ongoing South American Games, Keavon Bess, has disclosed an instance of health issues that rose this week at the Games in Asuncion, Paraguay.
The disclosure was made through a missive on Tuesday.
Keevin Allicock experienced a health scare during the South American Games
“At about 11:45 on the 10th day of October, 2022, after the Guyanese delegation returned from Nicolette Fernandes’ quarter finals match, Keevin Allicock started to complain about a pain in his right chest area, and eventually it became clear to myself and his other teammates that we needed the help of a doctor and an ambulance,” the missive informed.
“The Panamanian Chef de Mission, who was in the lobby area when we contacted the front desk, overheard our situation, and sensing an emergency, she immediately summoned her doctors, and one of them rushed to Keevin’s room and rendered vital assistance until the EMT and ambulance arrived.
“Boxing Coach Terence Poole and I accompanied Keevin to the hospital in the ambulance, and we were later joined by Garfield Wiltshire, the manager of the Squash Team. Keevin was attended to by a full team of medical personnel, who carried out an ECG and determined that his heart was working normally and was not under stress. His blood and urine samples were taken so that other tests could be carried out. After the results came back from the lab, the doctors explained to the Boxing Coach that Keevin was extremely dehydrated to the extent that even his bones were lacking fluids, and this caused the pain in the chest and the difficulty in breathing,” Bess reported.
Presumably alluding to the Guyanese contingent’s lack of accompanying medical staff, the press release offered consolation in the revelation that the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) had catered for insurance.
The release explained, “Each member of Guyana’s delegation to the South American Games 2022 has travel insurance (health and other coverage) that was secured by the Guyana Olympic Association before their departure. Additionally, the Games Organizers also have health insurance coverage to the tune of US$10,000 for each member of the delegation.
“Moreover, a listing of all of the hospitals has been provided to each delegation, and, most importantly, all of the hospitals in the host city of Asuncion have been put on high alert to deal with any medical incidents relative to the games.
“Hence, the ambulance arrived at the host hotel in about 5 (five) minutes after the emergency call was made, and Keevin received immediate attention when he arrived at the La Costa Hospital.”
About Keevin’s recovery, it was disclosed that the bronze medal-winning pugilist spent sone 5 hours in the hospital before being discharged, and was even well enough to witness Nicolette Fernandes’s semifinal victory in the Squash arena on Tuesday night.
Aside from the scare, no other incident has been reported regarding the Guyanese team in Paraguay.
