Three years after she lost her right arm in a brutal attack that also claimed the lives of her two children, Nazalena Natasha Houston recently returned to Guyana from the US with her new prosthetic limb. This, she said, has not only given her a new lease on life, but will also help her to amplify the message she shares as a survivor of domestic abuse.
Speaking at a press conference at the Help and Shelter office yesterday, Houston displayed her new prosthetic limb, which she received a little over a week ago, courtesy of a group of New-York based Guyanese.
Houston, 23, related that her new limb has lifted her self-confidence, allowing her to feel more accepted by society as opposed to the uncomfortable stares she was previously subjected to whenever she was out in public. She said this had seen her isolate herself in the months following the attack.
“I never really wanted to go anywhere but now I can get to go out and go different places and see different people; before when people see me they would stare at me and I always use to feel shy. I didn’t want to go anywhere just be home locked away,” Houston said.
“Now I feel more comfortable because I can now do things for myself and… thanks to the counselling and everything, I am okay,” she added.
After turning to Help and Shelter following the attack in 2013, Houston said she continues to undergo counselling at the organisation and has even started working as a spokesperson on the public education programme, which focuses on domestic violence. The young woman said it is her hope that by working along with Help and Shelter and sharing her own story as a survivor of domestic violence, she would be able to empower others.
“There are people out there who do not know of Help and Shelter. I was one of those persons. Some women are in the same situation I was in. I never got to go out anywhere or listen to the radio or anything, so I never knew there was a place that helps abused woman,” she said.
“Probably if I had known about it before, I would have been with them long before now… Maybe my kids’ lives could have been saved too. Yes it happened already but I don’t want the same thing happen to somebody else. If I can share my experience with someone else and bring them out from an abusive relationship, I will…” Houston asserted.
Houston spoke of the beatings she experienced at the hands of her husband Richard Lord, who had initially promised her a better life.
She was only 14 years old when she met him, and she took him up on the offer as she felt his promise was sincere. However, not more than one week after moving in with him and his relatives, she realised that she had been “fooled” and was subjected to constant physical and psychological abuse.
Two children and several years of abuse later, Houston said she found herself completely isolated from her own family with whom they had shared a yard in Zeelugt, East Bank Essequibo.
Houston related that Lord made constant threats to disfigure her, fuelled by his belief that she was being unfaithful to him.
“One time I remember a boy passed by me and he said ‘good morning’ and I replied and that upset he… He said he would disfigure me and spoil my face so that when anybody see me on the road, they mustn’t talk to me…he even said he was going to carve his name on my face,” she related.
But nothing could have prepared her for the events of August 1, 2013, a day she will never forget. On that afternoon, her attempt to escape her abusive husband saw her two children, Kimberley, 5, and Saif, 2, lose their lives as their father savagely wielded his cutlass. He later committed suicide. Houston was left with a severed right arm, three severed fingers from her left hand and emotional trauma.
“On to now, sometimes when I’m home I close my eyes just to relax and I see everything that happen… Sometimes in my sleep too, I scream ‘run Kimberley, run’ and sometimes I say ‘run Saif, baby run’,” Houston shared.
But the counselling she continues to receive from the organisation has helped her progress with her life as she is free to express herself.
“I feel more open now, knowing I can talk about my kids and relieved inside as well, because I can call them [counsellors] and talk to them whenever I need to,” she said.
The young woman plans to stay with the organisation, not only as a client, but as a spokesperson. “I keep doing it because who knows maybe I can save someone else’s life. I might be the voice for someone in a situation like this,” she said.
Houston pleaded with women in domestic violence situations to take some time to listen to her story and understand that by staying in such relationships, they are increasing their risk of suffering a fate similar to hers.
“Just get as far away as possible because one slap can lead to death… Find someone you can talk to; there’s always Help and Shelter ready to help,” she implored.
Former chairperson and co-founder of Help and Shelter Denise Dias described yesterday’s gathering as a happy one since the gift has allowed Houston to have a more positive outlook on her life.
“I first met Natasha during the second week she was with us at Help and Shelter and as soon as I met her, I knew she had the strength within and the courage to continue because she had just lost both her children and I don’t know how she managed to get through that traumatic scene but she did,” Dias said.
From that point, Dias said, the work to have Houston benefit from a prosthetic arm began.
Sometime later, Houston, through Help and Shelter got word that there were three doctors in New York who were willing to carry out the necessary work at no charge.
The doctors, Abe Matthews, Rob Von Barger and Sal Martella, all worked tirelessly to provide Houston with a prosthetic right arm, a machine right arm as well as a prosthetic left hand glove all of which cost almost $9 million.
Dias noted that it is not easy to tell the difference between her prosthetic limb and that of her real limb.
But taking into consideration that Houston had been without her right arm for three years, coupled with the fact that she only received the mechanical arm last week, she is still trying to familiarise herself with using it.
Dias said this process will be aided by staff at the Ptolemy Reid Rehabilitation Centre, where Houston will be undergoing physiotherapy.
Houston said she was treated like family by everyone she interacted with while abroad and remains thankful to those who played a part in assisting her rebuild her self-confidence.
Dias pointed out that while Houston has always been a wonderful spokesperson for Help and Shelter, her prosthetic limb offers her encouragement.
“I think that now she has more courage to go out with our public education team – to go to schools, villages, churches and be able to tell her story and hopefully assist us with ending violence in our society…,” Dias said.
Dias also took the opportunity to express gratitude to several companies that contributed to making Houston’s procedure a success. These included the US Embassy, Fly Jamaica, DD Signs, Twins’ Manufacturing, Toucan Industries, Creations Ltd, and Connections Travel Service.
Additionally, she also wished to acknowledge the contributions made by the following persons: Mr and Mrs Shaun McGrath, Beverly Harper and Troy Codogan, Mr and Mrs Elvis Dias, Fazil Ali, Zaleena Haqq, Meezon Ghanie, Gavin Lowman and Shirley Ann Jaime.
