Latest News
Unbearable pain - Sick teen needs $2.2 million to help relieve suffering
May 05, 2023
Afflicted with debilitating cerebral palsy and scoliosis that limit his capacity to maintain balance and posture, 15-year-old Davanic Brown frequently experiences pain and discomfort, making his day-to-day existence almost unbearable. In fact, his life revolves around coping with his condition, from eating to sleeping, and he endures significant suffering as a consequence.
The youngster, whose spine is severely contorted, is in desperate need of two surgeries. The price tag is a whopping $2.2 million, which is prohibitive for his family who are struggling to make ends meet.
"My body shiver when I hear the cost," Brown's grandmother and caretaker Lolita Gardner Campbell lamented during an interview with THE WEEKEND STAR at her home in Montpelier, near Sandy Bay, Hanover.
"Until now, I haven't recovered. My family has no money to do the operation and we had no idea it would be so costly."
The curvature of Davanic's spine causes his intestines to hurt. In fact, there are days he has to walk about and shake his body vigorously in order to pass his stool.
"Honestly, sometimes it's so terrible," Gardner Campbell said. "I have to have laxative, mineral oil, everything that I know that can help him. I just have to always feed the body. He is always in pain just to pass his stools."
She said that there are days when he can't even get out of bed due to the pain. And there are times when the pain is so much, he cannot sleep.
"I just have to have him on my shoulders at night, comforting him. Sometimes it goes on and on; I don't know what to do," Gardner Campbell said.
The 15-year-old boy's fingers show signs of the impact cerebral palsy has had on him. Gardner Campbell said that he has suffered a stroke.
"There is a time when his fingers are stuck together. Sometimes he can't lift a spoon. I just have to show him how to use his fingers to eat, because he can't use the hand to take up anything."
Doctors at Cornwall Regional Hospital in St James, where he has been an out-patient, have recommended that he undergo two surgeries to correct his scoliosis. The procedures are to take place at the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH), but Gardner Campbell has been told that she needs to buy screws and other medical implements. The family does not have the funds.
"Every mickle mek a muckle," she told THE WEEKEND STAR. "Anything that anyone can do, we are seeking help."
The struggling grandmother, who has been Davanic's main cargiver since his birth, said that taking care of him has not been easy. She said the teen wears diapers, and she is already saddled with those costs.
"I am in a dilemma and have nowhere to turn," she said, adding that the family's savings have been depleted.
Gardner Campbell, who lives atop a steep hill, said taking her grandson from home to his medical appointments has proven to be challenging. The teen has to be carried down the hill, after which he is placed in a vehicle, which takes him on his way.
"I have four sons and each time I call, they answer. They always bring him down and wait and bring him back. He has to be lifted at all times coming down."
On his birthday, February 14, Davanic had an appointment at the KPH. Gardner Campbell said that the trip was so strenuous on his body, that he fainted while there.
"Leaving Hanover going to Kingston, not having anybody to assist, was terrible," she stated. "However, the good thing is that the doctors are optimistic that surgery will help him."
A seamstress by profession, Gardner Campbell said she has not been able to do much work since his condition worsened a few years ago. She quit her job to take care of Davanic, leaving her husband as the household's sole breadwinner.
"He was so sick that I didn't think he would even recover the way he was ill. I had to leave my job to stay home with him," she said.
Davanic once attended Lucea Learning Centre, but with the pain and agony that accompanies his illness, he had to stop going to school. His grandmother is hoping that he can get the opportunity to lead a normal life, and like the doctors who have examined Davanic, she is confident that surgical intervention can bring about positive changes.
Lolita Gardner Campbell may be contacted via telephone at (876)310-5161.
