REMUS FUENTES died of multiple organ failures...two days after he ran the 21K (34th Milo Marathon) last Sunday, July 4, 2010.

13th July 2010

Link reblogged from Pinoy Tumblr. with 78 notes

REMUS FUENTES died of multiple organ failures...two days after he ran the 21K (34th Milo Marathon) last Sunday, July 4, 2010. →

His death was the result of fatal mistakes, sheer incompetence and gross negligence in the event organized by the Organizing Team.

My son, 37-year-old Remus ran the 21K together with a running buddy when he collapsed at 19.9 kilometer mark. There was none of organizer’s ambulance nor marshalls to respond in the incident. Policemen hailed for a taxi and they, together with his buddy, assisted in bringing him to the nearest hospital, Ospital ng Maynila. At the ER, the diagnose was suspected heart attack. My wife and me, upon being informed by his younger brother, Roy Fuentes, who also ran the 21K, rushed to the hospital and saw that Remus in coma, had seizures and struggled breathing in spite of hand-pumped oxygen and dextrose attached. His body temperature was 40 degrees C and when asked, the medical attendant told us he had fever. She introduced paracetamol intravenously twice at interval of about 15 minutes. Remus continued having seizures even until the arrival of Medical City doctor & ambulance attendants that we have arranged for his transfer. The Medical City doctor attending said his status was unstable, contrary to the earlier advice to her by the Ospital ng Maynila ER doctor. They rushed him with the ambulance to Medical City at about 11:30 AM. There, a series of tests were done, including blood chemistry, CT scan, etc. Cardiologist told us his heart was strong and no intervening medicine was necessary. Blood Chemistry results showed positive findings on creatinin level, an indication of kidney failure. They suspected liver failure too. To stop his seizures, Remus was put on full sedation for 12 hours. Kidney functions further deteriorated after 36 hours. Blood pressure and heart rate went erratic. Doctors attending him in the ICU asked our permission to do dialysis and blood transfusion to stabilize his blood pressure. Seven hours later, ICU nurse wake us up and asked us to rush to the ICU. We saw 18 medical people around him, several taking turn doing the CPR. Failing to revive him, the doctor asked our consent to stop the CPR after 15 minutes. We begged them to continue hoping for miracle. 30 minutes further, doctor told us again that all numbers in the monitoring “were bad” and asked again the consent to stop the CPR. Finally, we relented. Few minutes later, his heart rate monitor went flat. All these happened in front of my wife and me. We lost Remus 48 hours after he collapsed into coma which he has never recovered. His young wife and his eight-year old son took the news very badly…

Oh my. :( This sad story just shows that running a full (or half) marathon is no joke. I’m sure nobody willed this unfortunate accident, but I’m sure it could have been avoided. I wish the event organizers had enough marshals or ambulances that could’ve responded more quickly. This should also remind runners to be more mindful of their bodies before, during, and after their runs. Rest in peace, Remus. I’m sure you gave it your best ‘til the very end.

Source: pinoytumblr

karl santos

REMUS FUENTES died of multiple organ failures...two days after he ran the 21K (34th Milo Marathon) last Sunday, July 4, 2010. →