Mother, daughter pledge support for teen suffering with lupus

Nasshon Thompson, a mother of three, was heartbroken reading in THE STAR about 13-year-old Selena Williams, who is battling lupus.

Thompson, whose father, like Selena, hails from Old Harbour Bay, said she received an email about the situation, but when the story came out in THE STAR, it gave more details.

The Connecticut-based businesswoman came to the island to attend her aunt's funeral in Old Harbour Bay with an added agenda - to meet the suffering teen.

Accompanied by her daughter Nasshard - who is already heavily involved in charity work - she made the trek to visit Selena's family.

"I look at my own children, know that my youngest is an 11-year-old, and Selena discovered the sickness when she was her age. As a mother, the tears were not far away. I knew I had to do something," Thompson told CENTRAL STAR.

That 'something' was whatever aid she could give on this trip and a resolve to go back to the US and heavily engage in campaigning to get assistance for Selena.

"My daughter Nasshard does her charity work and with her (Selena) having this to deal with, I decided I would try in every way. If I can get friends and family to get involved, she can get the help she needs; it is not a one-time help, it is going to be a long-term thing," Thompson said.

Nasshard, who readily embraced the challenge of taking on the huge task of helping, said she could not walk away.

"As a child, I feel that I can go to school, I can do extra stuff and she can't do the sports that I can do. It just hurts because these things are traits that she could be using when she gets bigger, but she can't learn it. She can't go to school and her parents are struggling with the bills and can't afford the medicine; it just really touches me," she said.