Young soccer player BJ Banda with his dad Billy leaving the hoospital untreated on Friday evening as the flooding reached its peak. Photo: Donna McBride
BY SEÁN P. FEENY
A YOUNG Donegal football protegé was forced to leave Letterkenny General Hospital’s Emergency Department untreated when the flash floods hit the building on Friday evening. Letterkenny schoolboy BJ Banda (14) was injured while playing for the Donegal U16 Soccer Team at the Foyle Cup in Derry when he was received a kick to the ribs during the game.
After the BJ briefly lost consciousness as a result of the blow to his ribs his coach, Mr Joe Boyle rushed the young footballer to the Emergency Department in Letterkenny where they were met by BJ’s parents.
Mr Billy Banda, a well-known local community worker and basketball coach told the Donegal News that while they were waiting for their son to be seen, they could see water coming down the corridor and he immediately told one of the members of staff.
knee level
“I could see the water coming in up to knee level and told one of the nurses and helped her lay down blankets to soak up the water.
“Within moments you could see the water level rising much higher and when the fire truck drove in to the entrance even more water rushed in.
“People jumped up from their seats to find a dry spot. When we were called into one of the rooms to be seen by a doctor, everybody was being evacuated.
“I helped the staff getting people on beds into the old A&E department. The doctor who was supposed to see our son never returned; we were some of the last to leave and were forced to go home when the building was evacuated by the fire services,” said Mr Banda.
Young BJ was given pain killers that evening and was taken to his local GP the following morning (Saturday), but speaking on Wednesday evening, Mr Banda said his son had still not been for an X-Ray and was still in a lot of pain.
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