An interview with Tilahun Gessesse’s wife Wzr. Roman Bezu indicates that his life could have been spared on Sunday had he received timely medical care in Addis Ababa.
{www:Tilahun Gessesse} arrived in Ethiopia from the U.S., where he was receiving treatment, on Sunday, April 19, to celebrate Fasika, the Easter Holiday.
Wzr. Roman said that on Sunday evening when Tilahun started to complain about shortness of breath, she put him in a car and headed for Bete-Zata Clinic to get him an emergency treatment.
Bete-Zata could not even give Tilahun oxygen as he cried out that he could not breath. The doctor on duty told Wzr. Roman that he is not a heart specialist and suggested another clinic. What kind of medical doctor doesn’t know about stabilizing a patient until a specialist arrives?
Wzr. Roman accepted the Bete-Zata doctor’s suggestion and headed to the other clinic without making sure how to get there — and she got lost. By the time she found the clinic, Tilahun was too weak, unable to breath.
Click here [pdf] to read the interview with Roman Bezu.
Tilahun’s inability to get emergency medical treatment in a timely manner exemplifies the extremely poor state of health care in Ethiopia under the {www:Woyanne} tribal junta regime. After all, it is the same regime that murdered the country’s world renowned surgeon Professor Asrat Woldeyes by depriving him of medical treatment.
While mourning Tilahun’s untimely death, let’s also remember the countless other Ethiopians who are dying every day for lack of the most basic health care in Ethiopia, as the parasite regime spends hundreds of millions of dollars to buy weapons that are used to brutalize the people of Ethiopia and Horn of Africa.
The shameless Woyanne regime officials may decide to attend Tilahun’s funeral ceremony Wednesday for their own political reasons. Tilahun’s friends and fans need to use the occasion to demand the release of Teddy Afro, another Ethiopian music icon who has been thrown in a filthy prison cell for singing about justice, peace and unity.
54 thoughts on “Could Tilahun’s death have been prevented?”
To #38, here we go again! How did you come up with your diagnosis of VF? Simply he said his heart is racing?
No one questions that the MDs in Ethiopia have a good theoretical knowledge of Medicine; the problem has to see with applying the ethics of medicine.
Based on your own assumption, how do you reefer a patient with VF to a heart specialist in that situation? Doc, you need to learn or refresh the ABC of CPR first.
In good medical facility Tilhuan’s situation might have been reversed or not, we just don’t know. Stop playing god.
38 if you are really a doctor please do yourself, anyone that you might be treating and the hospital you work for and resign right away. You are not qualified to make any comment. And if you did really look at Tilahun’s medical record you should be ashamed disclosing it in here. If anyone knows who this so called doctor is and if you have heard him boast about knowing Tilahun or having treated Tilahun please report him to the hospital that he works for. they will not keep him for one day. 38 you are a disgrace to the human society and to the medical profession. The poor medical condition can blamed only to woyane. The so called current government is fully responsible for the condition of the country health care system. No one else. You have to buy every supply yourself if you want to get treatment. Yes we should blame the government for the lack of supplies but the 1st MD who saw Tilahun should loose his license. It is his fault that Tilahun died. So Meles and the Doctor are responsible for Tilahun’s death.
And 49 please do not deny your kids their beautiful heritage. Please take them home and let them breath our wonderful fresh air. (Unless of course if any of your kids have serious medical condition). I just took my kids age 9 and 6. I was so worried just like you before going but thank God nothing happened and we made it bak safely. My kids had the greatest experience ever. they love meeting my old neighborhood where I grew up and also their extended families. As a parent I fully understand you and as someone who just did it I highly recommend it. God be with you
Tilahun will always be with us. He has a song for every occasion so he will always be able to have an impact in our life and our kids life. Tilahum may you have an impact for all generation to come. betesebocho egeziahbere yatenachehu. Tihahun egezehabere nefesehen beselam yikebelat.
wodemochena ehetoche egizehabere hulacheneme yatenane lebona yisten
Does any body know if medical malpractice in Ethiopia is bound to any penal code? just curious.
Michael Buzuayehu
London, United Kingdom
says;
i have never wrote on these blogs before as the articles are usually shameful and indescribably stupid and as i feel it is degrading myself by making myself part of utter stupidity by responding to these articles which are written by immature, idiotic people with no commons sense at all and who what so ever have no relevance to the country and have no contribution to the development of the country at all. all they are good for is sitting and writing these utterly ridiculous blogs which try to spread hate but have no impact what so ever on the efforts of people who are actually exerting some effort in the development of the nation and taking it out of poverty to some extent. I was forced to comment this time as i was actually browsing to see the heartfelt sorrow and thoughts of the Ethiopian people on the shocking loss of their greatest and most talented artist of their era and i came across this article and i just could not believe the level of ignorance and disgrace i witnessed and this time I just could not tolerate it at all and my emotions made it inevitable to prevent me from not saying something on the way even this tragic loss was very stupidly used to instigate hate towards the government of Ethiopia who had no responsibility to his death what so ever. If one wants to address the weaknesses of the government, one has every right to do so with the appropriate justification and with proper respect towards the leaders of the country who have earned their position by a long & painstaking struggle which had major sacrifices that no ordinary people can commute to whatever their cause might be. i can even validate the intentions of some negative articles written by people as they might have been directly affected and might have been victims at one point or another by a wrong doing of the Ethiopian Government. The writer of this article who is so stupid that he is not even capable of instigating a proper propaganda, which at least has some basis of truth to it should understand that people like him have no relevance to the majority of the Ethiopian People or the Ethiopian Government so I strongly urge, the writer, fellow associates and all those who are in favor of the ideas expressed in the article, not to waste your time by committing yourselves to creating such ridiculous ideas. In my opinion such people should rot in the nasty prison cell mentioned in the article itself, for them not to spread their utter stupidity and hate to those who might be easily & innocently influenced. Finally i also find it to be very degrading to the Ethiopian people for idiots such as these who should not even be eligible enough to qualify as a proper citizen of the country to try to address the concerns of people such as Tewodros Kasahun who might be facing unjust treatment by the government for the words of insults he had thrown on their respected struggle which cost the lives of many and I think it is clear that he himself has learnt a good lesson from his mistake and has become a good example for idiots like the writer of this disgraceful article not to involve in any form of utter stupidity that is intended for orcastrating hate or intended for insulting and disrespecting the Ruling Party in any form. Freedom of speech is justified by any Democratic System but no proper democracy tolerates with Freedom of Hate. My Heartfelt Condolences To all Ethiopian People on the Loss of The Great Tilahun Gessesse May His Soul Rest In Peace and Respect Forever.