Just a few months after he arrived in Guyana for a year-long training stint, Belizean Emil Mendez was shot in an armed robbery and was left paralysed from the waist down.
Although many in similar circumstances would not think twice about leaving, Mendez, 21, did.
“I was a soldier and what I learned in my military was to never give up and that’s why I stayed,” Mendez told Stabroek News.
“I was brought here for one reason and I didn’t want to quit. I didn’t want to just get up and leave and not accomplish what I came for. That’s not how I was taught and being in the army for three years didn’t make me weak, even though I felt weak at first,” he added.
He was among 10 students who graduated from the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation’s Orthopedic Technician Training Programme Graduation yesterday.
Mendez came to Guyana to participate in the programme as a result of a partnership between the Belize Defence Force and Guyana Defence Force. He arrived in October last year and he was enjoying his new life here when tragedy struck.
“I remember it very vividly. It was December 22 and I was in Kitty getting food. Unfortunately I was texting someone and a guy came up and asked me for my phone… I just get angry. I get angry and I fight with he and as a result I was shot four times and one landed in my spinal cord and I lost all sensation in my legs,” he tearfully recounted. Following the attack, he spent a month in intensive care.
Afterward, Mendez resumed classes and he recalled that for the first couple of months it was very difficult.
“I felt back pains and I would be sleepy in classes. It was very, very hard and difficult but then I adapted. I adapted to my new life and I did it. Here I am,” he said proudly.
In addition to his own determination, Mendez’s fellow students and teachers were also responsible for him staying. “I am very thankful for my colleagues. They were patient and kind and they would push me around the hospital and help me whenever I needed to. My teachers too. They kept me going and I am very grateful for that. I am very thankful for everything they did,” he said.
Mendez said that while his family wanted him back home, they respected his decision to stay and even came to give him support, which was invaluable in the end as it helped him deal with his new circumstances.
“I have to say I am very thankful to my army back home. They made it possible for my parents to come and visit me in April, which gave me more strength. I really needed that because while they were here they cooked some Belizean food which made me feel really good,” he said.
“I know I am not the only one who has gone through something like this. In fact, at the hospital there are other patients with spinal cord issues and we all gather together and it feels good. We feel strong and we encourage each other every day because our goal is to walk again,” he said.
Mendez’s perseverance also inspired his colleagues and anyone who came into contact with him and heard his heartwarming story.
“He has helped all of us in ways we can’t understand. I think we all should thank him because he inspired us to work hard and to do more. And we did. We helped him and he helped us and I think that is one of the reasons why we are all here graduating today, because of Emil,” one of his friends said.
Mendez will be returning to Belize in the coming week and he will be stationed with its army as an orthopaedic technician.
