THURSDAY, AUGUST 7 is a day which will forever be etched in the minds and memory of the Durant family of Work Hall, St Philip.
It was on that day that 20-year-old Ramario Durant, while resting against a utility pole at nearby Ruby Tenantry Road, was “shocked” and thrown to the ground. This left him confused and with injuries to his face.
His older brother Raheem recounted the events: “I was at home when I got a call and was told my brother got shock . . . not shot. So I went over there and he was wrapped up in a jacket and sweating. He was asking questions and not clear what went on.
“One of the guys said he was thrown off the pole and fell on the ground. Two of the guys who witnessed what happened ran and picked him up; he was shaking and groaning. When they picked him up he asked to take off his watch and shoes.”
The incident took place between 6:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. and the ambulance came and by 8:05 he was at the Accident & Emergency Department of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Raheem said he knew something had gone seriously wrong with his brother as he could not remember what he did that day or about Foreday Morning or Grand Kadooment Day.
?Ramario underwent a number of tests including a CAT scan and ECG. He was discharged the following day with directions to monitor him particularly for severe headaches and bleeding from the nose. Since returning home he has suffered from headaches as well as a little bleeding from the nose.
“I get some headaches at night when it gets chilly and my muscle feel stiff,” Ramario said.
Raheem said the Barbados Light & Power Company was notified and two people from the utility company came and asked how he felt and asked him what had happened while promising to get the pole checked. The company also promised to speak to those who witnessed the incident.
On the way to Work Hall, when residents were asked for directions to the Durant family they were very familiar with the incident.
?Over in Ruby Tenantry Road, the fellows liming by a shop near to the pole where Mario got the “jolt” were vocal about what took place and highlighted a tubing which they said had been placed there since the incident.
Ramario is a waiter at Barbados Beach Club and in recent times has been the main breadwinner for the family. Raheem works seasonally in the tourism industry while their mother Latoya is battling cancer which she found out just after she gave birth to her son Joshua earlier this year. The National Insurance Scheme is what they must rely on these days.
It has been a harrowing experience for the mother who has lost weight and is now unable to work. On the day Ramario was injured he had been at home earlier, massaging her feet after she had returned from the hospital where she underwent radiotherapy treatment.
Not even that he could remember and when she reminded him that she was sick and the nature of her illness he simply cried.
?“I could have lost him and going through this at the same time, that would have break me up,” Latoya said.
Even in the midst of all her challenges Latoya manages a smile when she reflects on one very positive outcome. The incident has brought the two brothers closer, noting that before this they would have disagreements. For Raheem, a track athlete and one who had made a name for himself while at Ellerslie Secondary, there is now the responsibility of helping to care for his baby brother, looking out for “Mario” and ensuring his mum is as good as she can be.
Fortunately, Latoya’s aunt, Maureen Gooding, is there to lend a helping hand, giving Raheem and “Mario” a chance to have a little time for themselves.
The challenges however have gone nowhere. “Mario” still has a battery of medical tests to undergo and only yesterday he was off to a private facility for another CAT scan.
His mother’s desire is to see all her children well.
?
