Winston full of life after two successful brain surgeries

ROXROY MCLEAN

STAR Writer

Roderick 'Winston' Frazer has a lot to be thankful for. The 64-year-old tinsmith survived two major brain surgeries in one year, and is now enjoying the relationship with a previously estranged daughter.

"Right now mi feel on top of the world," Frazer told THE STAR.

Frazer's health problems began in 2018 after the motorcycle that he was riding crashed while he was travelling from Kingston to deliver baking tins to customers in St Thomas. Shortly after, he began experiencing severe headaches and was diagnosed with a frontal lobe brain tumour a year later following a CAT scan. The tumour, according to neurosurgeon Dr Dwaine Cooke, one of the doctors who performed the operation, was the size of a lemon and was posing a serious threat to his life.

"His tumour was in a tricky location in the brain. It was very close to one of the main blood vessels in the head and the aim was to try and take the tumour out without damaging that vessel. There was the risk of haemorrhage, there was the risk of infection and there was the risk of damage to the brain that can give seizures," the doctor said.

Having weighed the risks, Frazer decided that doing the brain surgery was his best option. He said the pain he was feeling was unbearable.

"Weh mi did a go through mi did affi do it because mi tell mi self say it cannot be any worse. Mi tell mi self say if it get any worse a dead mi a guh dead. At the time before di surgery mi couldn't siddung up, every minute mi get dizzy. I went with the mindset that mi just a try a thing and mi nuh might survive it," Frazer said.

Although the operation was successful, the doctors had to perform a second surgery a few months later because he developed an infection.

"Mi feel good right up to six months (after the first surgery) then mi start get back some pain pon di forehead," Frazer said.

Within a year he was back on the operating table at the Kingston Public Hospital, and this time he was lucky to be there as hospitals were being overrun by COVID-19 cases, which placed a strain on resources.

"We were having the corona influx and the hospitals were beginning to feel the pinch and the procedures done in the hospital had to be prioritised, and fortunately, he was one of them," Cooke said.

Frazer got unexpected support as he battled for his life. Joan, 29, who up to that point had only known her father for five years, teamed up with her six siblings in a bid to assist their father.

"I could not allow him to die after just meeting him. My mother disassociated herself from him years ago. We were just developing a bond, so I had to do everything possible to ensure that he was here for long," Joan said. She said that the decision has helped the relationship to blossom into the beauty that it is today.

"We have such a close bond right now. I am happy that I decided to push things, we have overcome so much," she said.

Frazer, who operates his business on Pechon Street in downtown Kingston, said he feels blessed.

"She surprised me, especially for the likkle bit of time we spent together. She was there for me day and night. I am a blessed to have these children in my life," he said.