(Trinidad Express) She was the first of six children to attend university and her family had hoped she would achieve her dreams of becoming an attorney.
Something, however, happened a week ago that changed the course of Khadeeja Taylor’s life. It led to her death on Thursday morning.
An autopsy performed at the San Fernando Mortuary concluded the 22-year-old died from hypovolaemic shock and upper gastrointestinal bleeding.
Hypovolaemic shock occurs when a person loses a significant amount of fluid or blood, which prevents the heart from pumping blood throughout the body. It can cause organs to stop functioning, according to United States-based multispecialty academic medical centre Cleveland Clinic.
People who experience hypovolaemic shock lose more than 20 per cent of the amount of fluid in their body, which could be from a severe injury (cuts or burns), internal bleeding, vomiting or diarrhoea.
Her mother, Jennifer Sandy-Taylor, is not convinced her child died from a medical emergency. According to Sandy-Taylor, her daughter appeared to be possessed by a demon, causing her to become violent and uncontrollable.
Khadeeja was receiving treatment from a spiritual healer in Siparia and she began foaming at the mouth around 2 a.m. on Thursday.
She was taken to the Siparia District Hospital, where she died later that morning.
In an interview with the Express yesterday, Sandy-Taylor told a story of how her “perfectly normal” little girl turned into a “demon” within days. And to those who do not believe it, Sandy-Taylor said, “You would not understand until you experience it.”
The Express also spoke with Khadeeja’s elder sister, Shenice, who said her sister was a brilliant person who had big dreams and never allowed anything to distract her. “She was the first one in the family to go to university (The University of the West Indies). She was bright from kindergarten. She attended the Seventh Day Adventist Secondary School where she was the valedictorian. She wanted to pursue law and she was always studying. She never went to parties and she was the kindest person you will ever meet,” she said.
Shenice said her sister never took shortcuts, and worked hard for everything she accomplished.
Khadeeja went from “the perfect child” to someone her family did not recognise, she said.
The Express was told Khadeeja stayed with relatives in St James and worked part-time while at university.
Last Monday, Sandy-Taylor called her daughter, but said she did not recognise the person she was speaking with. Taylor told her mother she had not been eating or sleeping.
The mother immediately went to her daughter and brought her to their Ibis Drive, Pleasantville, home.
“But she became aggressive, shouting, screaming, becoming violent, her speech was unrecognisable and we knew something was wrong,” she said.
Relatives said Khadeeja was hurting herself: pulling out her hair, banging her head against the wall and claiming to be the devil. When she was challenged, it is alleged she attacked her mother. But Sandy-Taylor did not give up.
She went to a spiritual healer in Siparia, where prayers were held and Taylor began showing signs of improvement, the mother said. On Wednesday night, however, Khadeeja’s condition deteriorated and she began having difficulty breathing.
She was taken to hospital, and died hours later.
