MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Falkland Islands: Weekly Penguin News Update

Headlines: Baby Nick's poor health means no return home; SSL launches scholarship; Men overboard; Westers talk rates; Deportation applications contested.

Baby Nick's poor health means no return homeA FALKLAND Island family are contemplating a new life in the United Kingdom following the news that their baby son's kidney condition cannot be treated at home. Tom and Jane Chater have been advised it is against their son's best interests to return to the Falklands as the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital in Stanley is unable to provide the necessary support he will need. Nick was born in Southampton on December 12, 2007, a little brother to Ben. Jane, newly-promoted Managing Pilot with British International Helicopters, was induced two weeks early after scans showed damage to the baby's kidneys and a low fluid level around Nick, suggesting poor lung development. Tom, a pilot with the Falkland Islands Government Air Service (FIGAS), explained: "Nick would not breathe when he was born and had to be resuscitated which in itself led to a collapsed lung and three days of intensive care before he was even allowed to have a cuddle from Mum and Dad." Nick was a week old before he was well enough to leave the neo-natal intensive care ward to be transferred to the paediatric ward in Southampton General, allowing kidney specialists full time access to him to assess the damage to his kidneys and bladder. The news was not good, Tom said: "The damage was caused by a little valve downstream of his bladder which meant that he could not urinate properly causing a great deal of pressure in his bladder and back up to his kidneys. Unfortunately the kidneys do a lot more than make urine, they regulate a lot of the salt and mineral levels in your blood and also produce various hormones. "Nick's kidneys are not working well and despite some improvement he is fully expected to need a transplant at some time in the future, although no one can predict when." When the time does come, he should be able to have a kidney from either Jane or Tom. The cause of the problem, the valve, was removed in a small operation on Christmas Eve, which went well, Tom said. Due to the damage Nick's bladder sustained he will also need an operation on this in a few years time. Nick was released from hospital on January 4 and has had regular visits back for blood tests and a couple of visits to Accident and Emergency due to choking episodes following vomiting spells. Tom explained: "Due to his kidney problems he is prone to frequent large vomits which we are now used to and Nick also deals with them better as he gets older. He is now starting to put on some weight and weighs about ten and a half pounds." Tom said he and Jane had been drip fed the bad news over the course of the last few months and only after a visit last week from the Falklands Chief Medical Officer, Dr Roger Diggle, during which he met one of the kidney specialists, were their worst fears confirmed. "We have been advised that it is against Nick's best interests to return to the Falklands as the KEMH is simply unable to provide the necessary support. "With this in mind we have had to resign from FIGAS and turn down a recent promotion to Managing Pilot with British International." This means the Chater family has no choice but to make a new life in the UK, Tom said: "We are optimistic that Nick will grow up to lead a relatively normal life, although for all of us it will be far from where we most want to be as we now have no choice but to make a new life in the UK, not an easy thing to come to terms with. "Had the original problem been spotted sooner then things would have all turned out very differently." In thanking everyone at home for their support, Tom said: "We do hope to be able to return at the very least for holidays at some point in the future and our hearts most definitely will never leave the Islands." SSL launches scholarshipA SCHOLARSHIP to the value of £10,000 per annum has been launched by Stanley Services Ltd (SSL). Celebrating 20 years of business in the Islands on Monday night, the scholarship was announced by Mr JDM Robertson of S and JD Robertson Group Ltd of Orkney, one of the founding shareholders of Stanley Services Ltd. The driving factor behind the award, which is open to anyone over the age of 21 regardless of their educational background, must be of relevance to the future development of the individual and to the Falkland Islands, said Mr Robertson. The funding could be used to pay course fees, help with accommodation and/or travel costs and, depending on the request, consideration will be given to awarding more than one scholarship, he told a gathering of more than 100 people. The administration of the scholarship will be handled by SSL and it is proposed the selection panel be made up of a representative from the company and two others, one from Stanley and one from Camp. Preference for the award will be given to Falkland Islands residents and used as a contribution to post graduate studies or awarded to mature students or individuals who, for whatever reason, want to retrain or gain specialist/additional training to further their career within the Falkland Islands, said Mr Robertson. â€Â¢ Photos from the reception on page 10. Men overboardTWO Vietnamese fishermen who jumped ship near the entrance to Stanley Harbour are to be flown home tomorrow. Last Friday evening the police received a report that the two men were missing from the Taiwanese jigger, Solar No 101.The ship had called at Stanley to obtain a fishing licence and had departed at 1pm that same day. Chief of Police, Superintendent Paul Elliott, said the ship's skipper did not discover that the two crewmen were missing until they failed to attend the evening meal. â€Â¢ Continued on page 4 Westers talk ratesTHIRTY-THREE West Falklands residents attended a meeting on Wednesday held to discuss the proposed rates for the new coastal shipping service. People expressed concern about the increase in the rates for the cross sound ferry, particularly in light of the uncertainty as to what charges will be made for the consolidation and delivery of freight from Stanley to Newhaven and from Port Howard to destinations on the West.â€Â¢ More next week. Deportation applications contestedTWO men imprisoned for importing drugs have contested applications by the Crown to deport them from the Islands. Saint Helenians Alan Francis and Meshara Yon are serving three and four month sentences respectively. Principal Crown Counsel Ros Cheek said the seriousness of the offences made it contrary to public interest that they remained in the Islands. Opting to represent themselves, the men, who both have family connections in the Islands, said there was a lack of consistency with deportation orders, citing a case in which a non Falklands-born person convicted of possession of drugs had not been deported. Miss Cheek said there were no inconsistencies she was aware of and the example cited by the men had related to a different offence. Senior Magistrate Alison Thompson deferred making a decision until March 17.