Low blood count weakens Starboy 'Tattoo'

Esroy 'Tattoo' Parkins, the St James man with two 'wives', was forced to seek medical attention last week after his body began showing signs of weakness. Parkins told the WESTERN STAR that he was admitted to the Cornwall Regional Hospital due to low blood count.

Parkins lives on the outskirts of the Retirement Dump, where he rummages through piles of garbage for a living. He said that he checked himself out of the hospital yesterday after a series of tests could not determine why his blood count was low.

"Somebody tell me that is blow (obeah) them send on me, and them suggest that I look bout myself, so me take out the drip and leave," Parkins said.

In addition to being suspicious that someone is trying to obeah him, Parkins said his medical woes are compounded by the fact that the younger of his wives, Anna-Kay Parnell, 25, lost her baby.

"Mi babymother have baby but it died inside her," he told the WESTERN STAR.

LOW IRON INTAKE

Meanwhile, Dr Garfield Campbell, a general physician, said it is unlikely that Parkins' low blood count problem would have stemmed from the fact that he has two 'wives'.

"His alleged promiscuous behaviour would not contribute. There is a myriad of conditions that may cause low blood," he said.

"But one of the primary things would have been, especially in our settings, it can be related to diet, in terms of low iron intake."

"Other things that you may have to take into consideration are whether he is having a bleeding from an ulcer stomach or in fact, if he has cancer," the doctor said.