Leslie Fredericks is racing against time to save his son’s life.
At 17, his son, Rayon, is practically bed-ridden, almost blind and with little sight because of a brain tumour.
“Right now he sight bad. And he ears. He ain’t hearing properly and he ain’t seeing properly,” a distressed Fredericks told this newspaper. He is appealing for help so that Rayon could undergo surgery in Trinidad to remove the tumour. The doctor said that the surgery must be done by July, Fredericks said.
Two years ago, Rayon, who lives in the Amerindian community of Hururu, along the banks of the Berbice River, was preparing to write the Caribbean Secondary Educa-tion Certificate examinations when doctors diagnosed him with a hearing problem. But it was only last December after he began losing his sight that Rayon was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where the tumour was detected.
After the diagnosis, Fredericks said, through a network of family and friends some funds were raised and he took Rayon to Trinidad to the Medical Associates Hospital Limited, where the doctor upon seeing his condition, decided on an immediate operation –a “shunt” – to drain the fluid building up in his brain. Fredericks said that an MRI scan was done and the doctor recommended surgery by June or July.
Rayon regained a little of his sight and hearing, which he had practically lost as a result of the surgery, and the doctor said that this would be vastly improved if the tumour is removed.
However, he remains bedridden. “We does gah hold he hand foh carry he to bathe, to the toilet and so on,” Fredericks said.
He said that the surgery would cost TT$121,165. Fredericks said that they have approached the Ministry of Health and received a commitment to help with a portion of the cost but this still has to go through a process.
Fredericks said up to Monday, when he visited the Ministry, he was not given word on how far the process had gone and the official who was looking at his matter is on leave. They did promise to contact him if anything develops, he said.
Fredericks said that after the scan, the doctor told him that the tumour was non-cancerous but it still needs to be removed because it is growing. “I really asking the public if they could help in some way,” he said.
Anyone willing to assist can contact Fredericks at 676 5903 or 690 7908 or can make a contribution to Republic Bank account number 5087721.
