Another victim of the healthcare crisis

[warrens]

Staten Island journalist dies of malaria

ATLANTA - To feed her wanderlust and launch a reporting career, Akilah Amapindi signed on in July 2004 as a Namibian Broadcasting Corp. intern, a stint that would let her get acquainted with her father in his homeland.

She died early yesterday at a hospital in Atlanta, where she was attending the National Association of Black Journalists' annual convention.

Yesterday, in an Atlanta hotel room, Harper tended to the details of burying Amapindi. Harper said the salary she makes as a nurse's assistant isn't enough to pay the costs of flying her daughter's remains back north. She didn't want her child cremated.

Amapindi also had no health insurance, losing her mother's coverage after graduation.

Tuesday, she again sought medical care, at Grady Hospital, where doctors concluded she had malaria. Amapindi died after five days of treatment.

"She had tears in her eyes every time they wanted to do another medical procedure," said Bob Butler, an Infinity Broadcasting Corp. executive and student convention project volunteer. "I could see a calculator going off in her head."

SNIP


http://www.newsday.com/news/printedition/newyork/nyc-nymalavr4375880aug08,0,1493799.story