By Shemuel Fanfair
As time goes by, how can a mother stand to bear the burden to daily care for her once sprightly and promising son without harbouring feelings of great dismay over the fact that at present, he cannot respond audibly whenever she speaks to him? This is the battlefield of emotions Lot 22 Goed Fortuin, West Bank Demerara, mother of five Sharon Davidson faces, two years after her son; Shamar Henry, was struck down three houses away from their family home.
On May 29, 2016 Henry, as positive as any child could be, was on the cusp of his 13th birthday. However, his life and the lives of his family members would never be the same after Henry was one of two persons who was struck by a motorcar operated by Donald Downer, who was said to be speeding at the time of the accident.
Both lives were altered as the other individual involved in the accident — Wazir Ali, lost a leg; but for Shamar, he never regained his mobility or his speech after the accident on that fateful day.
Speaking with Sunday Times Magazine, his mother, Sharon, said above all, she wishes that her now 15-year-old son — who is her youngest child — would look up and speak to her. Davidson pointed out that she is thankful that he can now move his head and blink his eyes.
Her day starts out about 05:00h everyday and the first thing she does is make porridge for Shamar. Thereafter, Davidson would shower her son, feed him and then prepare meals for the rest of the family. The mother noted that she has to feed him again at 11:30h, 16:00h and 20:00h in all liquids since he is fed through a feeding tube.
“Every day is one thing. He uses a pack of 10 pampers a day because he urinates a lot and I don’t want him to get anymore rashes because I have to spend a lot of money buying different creams to stop the itching,” she told Sunday Times Magazine.
Davidson recalled vividly that it was a Sunday afternoon around 15:15h when her son was struck by the speeding car. Just before the accident, a group of friends called her son out to play a game of football and she said she was lying in bed when she heard people calling out that Shamar was hit. Rushing over to the scene, she noted the fears that filled her mind when Shamar was lying on the Goed Fortuin Public Road in his older brother’s arms. At this point, all she could do was frantically stop an approaching taxi to get help as she was only concerned with saving her injured son’s life.
After Downer’s speeding vehicle struck both pedestrians, the lad suffered from four fractures to his skull and internal injuries.
“The driver leave and go away and he is a pastor. He left and go to the station but he didn’t render any assistance. I was right here on this bed when I hear people shouting Shamar, Shamar. We get and car and rush he to hospital… then I ask what happened,” the woman remembered.
But as she was speaking to this publication, her eyes seemed filled with sadness as she stared at her son, recalling the horrific events of May 2016. Even now, these feelings remain persistent in her thoughts as she tries to see the light of a better day.
“Many days I want to holler and scream… to see how he deh but I thank God he alive and is a 100 per cent better than how he was before…he didn’t have any medical problem before… he would always be running and jumping up in the yard when the day came,” Davidson said with a restrained smile.
He was first taken to the West Demerara Regional Hospital but his condition was so severe that he was referred to the Georgetown Public Hospital. Shamar’s mother said a Cuban doctor’s preliminary assessment was that her son could be brain dead which made her want to scream to the top of her lungs but she nevertheless persevered with hope that things would improve.
She recalled that when she first brought him home, Shamar was severely underweight and would wear pampers fit for a two year old. She said the biggest part of his feet were his knees and even today, he does not have the body mass as he once did.
“I feel bad because it’s my son and all the fatigue and strain left on me. The man who hit him down never gave me any compensation,” she said, adding that her faith was especially challenged because of this.
Davidson noted too that she would sometimes see Downer in a nearby supermarket as he reportedly appealed his one-year prison term. He was earlier found guilty and sentenced to 12 months jail by former Wales Magistrate Clive Nurse at the conclusion of trial.
When it comes to her financial state, the woman indicated that she can barely make ends meet as she spends around $25,000 a month in pampers and thousands more in milk, anti-itch medication and vitamins. She had stopped his therapy sessions due to financial constraints but hopes to have him back in therapy by June which will cost $4000 for eight days. Davidson said she gets $8000 in public assistance and $16,000 in child support from the teen’s father.
The mother noted too that she can’t work anywhere but she supplements her income by selling at a small shop in front of her yard with her daughter. Davidson takes Shamar to the West Demerara Hospital to get treatment for seizures and according to her, a doctor explained that it goes off like if wires are sparking in Shamar’s brain. But all is not lost as the woman is hopeful for a turnaround in her son’s situation.
“I am hoping and praying that he’s able to walk and talk and gets healed physically and mentally… If I had money I would have gone out of the country to seek help but all in all, God has to be the final help. God got to help he; man could only suggest this and that,” she said.
“It’s a terrible strain and a loss because I want to hear his voice. Sometimes I stand up, fed up and talk to him and I ask him if he understand me and he winks his eye but I am hoping that he will walk and talk but everything takes time,” she stressed.
The mother said her second born son was in a recent car accident at Hand-in-Hand in Vreed-en-Hoop where his shoulder was broken but he is recuperating. Sharon Davidson can be reached on mobile number 681-1404. (Times Sunday Magazine)
