In Japan, a five-year-old boy who suffered burns due to the Noto Peninsula earthquake was refused admission to a hospital and died while waiting.
According to TVNazawa, on the 1st, Kanato Nakagawa, who lives in Shika-cho, Ishikawa Prefecture, was baking rice cakes on an oil stove at a relative’s house with his mother. Water was boiling in a kettle on the stove. It was at this time that a magnitude 7 earthquake suddenly struck them. Boiling hot water splashed onto Kanato’s buttocks and legs.
When his mother, Misaki, took off his pants, his skin was peeled off. Kanato-kun held the torn skin and said in pain, “What is this pain?” He took out water and tried to relieve the heat on his skin, but the water would not come out.
From this point on, Kanato was rejected by the hospital at least three times.
The first refusal was an ambulance. Immediately after the burn, Mr. Misaki panicked and called an ambulance, but the reply was, “We cannot dispatch with a burn.” I tried to go to the hospital by car, but the road was cracked and broken and there was a traffic jam with cars that had left.
Feeling clingy, I called 119 once more, and this time an ambulance arrived. We barely arrived at the hospital. However, the medical staff refused hospitalization, saying, “It is not a serious injury, but it is not a minor injury either.” Kanato-kun said Misaki said, “It tickles. I spent the night in the cold hospital lobby amidst the aftershocks with Kanato, who kept crying, saying, “I’m sick.”
In the end, Kanato, who could not be hospitalized, had no choice but to receive treatment at home. From the morning of the 3rd, a high fever of 41 degrees along with burn pain tormented the child. He had no appetite, and the clinic in Kanazawa city only prescribed medication.
On the morning of the 4th, I went back to the hospital I visited on the first day for a burn examination, but there was another endless wait because ‘people with fever cannot be brought into the room.’ It was finally time for the examination and he was put on a stretcher, but Kanato had stopped breathing. He was taken to the intensive care unit (ICU) but never opened his eyes again. There was no color in his face. Kanato waited like that and on the 5th, he passed away.
Mr. Misaki told NNN that he was concerned about the response during the first visit. I also had regrets like, “If only I could have been admitted to the hospital,” or, “If only the hot water had splashed on me in the first place.” I was distressed that I was “overdoing it” by giving painkillers to a child who was struggling for no reason.
Shikajeong announced that Kanato-gun “had a sudden change in his condition in Gyeongsang and died a few days later.” Was Kanato-kun really just a minor injury? According to the Japanese Burn Society’s burn classification system, Mr. Kanato’s burns were caused by hot water covering 15-30% of the body part, that is, a second-degree, moderate grade.
The society considers severe and moderate cases to be “hospitalization treatment level” and states that “even moderate cases can request first aid depending on the situation and must be hospitalized at a general hospital.”
The hospital that examined Kanato only responded to NNN, saying, “We are currently verifying the circumstances.”
When asked by a reporter about his child’s dream when he was alive, Misaki said, “I want to become a self-defense force, paramedic, or police officer.” “He said he wanted to be like a hero.” Then, she said, “I’m sorry for not being able to protect you,” and covered his head.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.