Family of 106-year-old Berbice man appeals for medical home visits

…as traversing now difficult as result of fragility

Jeojodhan Bhorasi, also known as “Harold Bissoo”, turned 106 on Tuesday, but even as his family marked the milestone, they were again forced to confront a troubling reality: the Berbice centenarian remains unable to access regular medical care, despite living just three doors away from a health centre.
The family says getting Bhorasi, known to most as Harold Bissoo, to a doctor has become increasingly difficult because of his age and condition, while taking him to the New Amsterdam Hospital can cost about $5000 for a taxi. They are now appealing to the health ministry to intervene, particularly since the doctor attached to the nearby health centre is reportedly unable to visit him at home without official permission.
Born in 1920, Bhorasi has lived through more than a century of change in Berbice. His long life, however, is now being overshadowed by the difficulties his relatives and carer face in securing medical attention for him in his old age.
His daughter, Moona Jewjodhan, said the family remains proud that he has reached such an extraordinary age.
“I feel proud. I feel very proud because many people got to see that age and they couldn’t. So I am proud about him for how long he’s here,” she said.
She described him as a good person and said that for most of his life, he did not suffer from major illness.
“He never have a sickness, you know. This is the first time like something with his toe,” she said, while explaining that his hearing has also deteriorated over time.
But for his caretaker, Geetaa Kishun, the greater concern is his present condition and the struggle to get him seen by a doctor.
Kishun, who said she has been helping to care for him for about 20 years, explained that he has become largely immobile in recent years.
“Most of the time, he doesn’t walk. If I hold him, he doesn’t walk. I’m alone,” she said.
She said the family is not demanding special treatment but is simply asking that a doctor be allowed to visit him periodically at home.
“I need a doctor. I’m not compelling… I want one time a month for a doctor to come and see him,” Kishun said.
According to the caretaker, the situation is especially frustrating because the Goed Bananen Land Health Centre is only a short distance away.
“Next door to the NDC, there’s a clinic there, Goed Bananen Land Health Centre… two houses from here,” she said.
Yet, despite that proximity, she said the family has been told that the doctor cannot come to the home without authorisation.
“The doctor in the health centre doesn’t refuse to look at him, but she doesn’t have the order to come home. I had to carry him to the clinic,” Kishun explained.
That, she said, is often not realistic.
She recalled that when he previously had to be taken to the hospital, she could not manage on her own and had to move him in a wheelchair. Added to that is the cost of transportation to New Amsterdam, which the family says is around $5000 by taxi.
Now, even as relatives celebrate the fact that Jeojodhan Bhorasi, better known as Harold Bissoo, has reached 106 years of age, they say the focus is also on ensuring that he receives the care and comfort he needs.