On January 1, while most people would have been looking with anticipation at the new year and what it held in store for them, life for Melissa Robinson took a most unfortunate turn with the death of her reputed husband of eight years.
Robinson and her partner, Shawn Seecharan, were on a bicycle returning to their home at Lusignan west, East Coast Demerara (ECD) from a nearby shop less than 3 hours into the New Year when they were struck down by a car.
Seecharan was pronounced dead on arrival at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH), but Robinson lived to see the light of that day.
According to the 22-year old mother, when she was told the grim news of her partner’s death, it sent shockwaves through her, not only would he no longer be there for her, but she would now have the sole responsibility of taking care of their only child, five-year-old Sarah Seecharan, who has a brain tumour. According to Robinson, the tumour “is growing to a state where I don’t know if she has a future.”
The young mother, whose husband was the sole breadwinner of the family, told Stabroek News during a recent visit that Sarah, was a normal growing child until some two years ago when she noticed her displaying a few “unusual” movements.
She said that a few years ago Sarah began to complain of frequent headaches, but she would treat the child with medication, such as panadol or aspirin, and though the medication seemed to work, Sarah continued to complain of headaches.
She recounted that when Sarah was about two years old, she sustained an electric shock; the child accidentally held on to a wire which was plugged into an electrical outlet. Robinson stated that about two years ago, she noticed the child’s feet “turning inwards” and as time progressed she could only walk for a short amount of time.
She said that last year she took the child to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) to have surgery performed on her leg to have it straightened. She said the surgery was performed successfully and as time progressed, Sarah was able to, “walk and play a bit more comfortable”.
During 2010, Robinson said, her daughter began to “lose feelings” in her left hand. According to her, initially Sarah would hold items with the hand but she would have difficulty releasing them, as her fingers would remain clasped. “Sometimes I would tell her to open the hand [left hand] and she would hold it with the other hand and slowly open it,” Robinson said.
She also said that Sarah would be kept at home from nursery school whenever she experienced headaches.
Robinson said she took her daughter to the Mon Repos Health Centre mid last year and the nurses there told her that the child might have a brain problem. She said she acted on their advice and visited the Paediatric Clinic at the GPH shortly after. There, she was advised to take Sarah to the St Joseph Mercy Hospital to have an MRI scan performed on her daughter’s head and it was thereafter that she received the “tough news” that there was a tumour in her child’s brain.
The results of the scan, which was performed on June 28 last year at Global Imaging Services Inc at the Mercy Hospital in Kingston, indicated that Sarah has “a well-defined, oval, hypodense, mass lesion measuring 4.7 x 4 x 5 cm in the right rhalamus, right side midbrain and suprasellar region to the right side.”
Robinson said the doctor treating her daughter at the GPH told her there was “nothing much” which could be done here to correct the situation and that Sarah could access surgery and treatment overseas but it would be expensive.
With a depressed look into the distant sky, Robinson said she knew of no organization or person who can assist with having her daughter receive treatment for her medical condition. She said that two weeks ago, after the New Year’s Day accident was highlighted in the media, two nurses from the GPH visited her home to examine the child. She said the nurses did a general check-up on Sarah and recorded some information.
She said she would be grateful if anyone or any organisation was willing to assist her in accessing treatment overseas for Sarah.
During the interview last week, a smiling Sarah hugged and kissed her mother at intervals asking over and over where her father was. She then went to the kitchen and climbed up to the sink “to wash the wares”, and Robinson noted that the child “would want to do so many things but because of her condition I can’t allow her to do as she asks.” Sarah then proceeded to her room, brought out a dress and stated that she wanted her mother to take her to the zoo.
Meantime, Robinson told Stabroek News that she was slowly recovering from the accident, during which she sustained a huge cut to the right ankle. She was also hit in the back.
She has since moved in with her mother at Lot 660, Good Hope, ECD as she is no longer able to pay the rent for the small apartment where she and her husband lived at Lusignan.
The driver of the car which was involved in the accident was released on $250,000 bail after appearing in court on the ECD earlier this month. The matter continues in court on February 3.
If anyone or any organisation is willing to assist Melissa Robinson, she can be contacted on her mobile number 673-6184 or at her mother’s address at Lot 660 Good Hope, East Coast Demerara.