Although the medical condition of environmental activist Dr Wayne Kublalsingh has been described by his doctor as “critical,” he has refused to be hospitalised or to take intravenous (IV) drips. Dr Asante Van West-Charles-Le Blanc, who monitored Kublalsingh during his 21-day hunger strike in 2012, visited his camp outside the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair, yesterday.
Kublalsingh completed day 17 of his hunger strike yesterday to protest against the construction of the Debe to Mon Desir section of the Solomon Hochoy Highway extension to Pt Fortin. After examining Kublalsingh for about 10 minutes, the doctor told members of the media there had been a decline in his vital signs.
“There is a definite deterioration of the body. His mind is still very clear, and so I had to reiterate he is alert, oriented. There is no mental deficit at this point but his body is deteriorating slowly,” Van West-Charles-Le Blanc said. Giving further details, she said as Kublalsingh’s body had been deprived of food and water the bodily functions would slow down and naturally stop.
“The ultimate result, if he does not eat or drink, will be death. At this point we are seeing the body is compensating for the lack of food and water. At this point the compensation mechanism has basically burnt out...so the blood pressure is showing signs of decrease. “His peripheral circulation is showing signs of slowing down because the body tries to conserve the major organs before death and so that is what we are seeing right now.”
Van West-Charles-Le Blanc said Kublalsingh’s blood sugar levels had also decreased. “It was stable for a while and in the last two to three days there has been a rapid decline of the blood sugar, and basically the heart has taken a beating. “Between days 15 to now I have seen a much faster decline in his deterioration,” she said. She said the last set of tests showed there were problems with Kublalsingh’s kidneys. Whether the damage was irreparable or not Van West-Charles-Le Blanc was unable to say.
On whether Kublalsingh should be hospitalised she said, “As a physician, and as his physician, I advise him on what he should do, which is to hydrate and rehydrate and nourish the body. “However, it must be noted that Dr Kublalsingh is of sound mind. He expresses his wishes to me and I do have to respect those wishes and it’s a very thin line, medically speaking. “Whether or not he needs hospitalisation right now, I’d rather not comment.”
Mind stronger than body
Asked about how long could Kublalsingh’s body endure the hunger strike, Van West-Charles-Le Blanc said this was difficult to tell, adding that she had begun to research the topic. “I think he has a tremendous resilience and I think this is proof that the mind is indeed a very strong component to the body’s functioning,” Van West-Charles-Le Blanc said.
A gaunt-looking Kublalsingh complained about feeling weak and dehydrated yesterday. He said he had a bad night and was unable to sleep. But the strike, he added, would only stop when Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar agreed to abide by her promise to review the Debe to Mon Desir Highway, which was also recommended in the Armstrong report.