Family hobbled by illness seeks assistance

Marvin Thompson lovingly scoops his one-year-old stepdaughter into his arms as he sits in his wheelchair in his home at New Road district, Portland, determined to be a caring dad despite his physical limitations.

Thompson suffers from multiple sclerosis, a medical condition with a variety of symptoms, including loss of strength in the muscles of the arms and legs.

"I met in an accident when I was nine years old and it went untreated for a number of years and it developed into an autoimmune disease. It affects my nerves and so forth. Growing up, it was really difficult as we did not have financial assistance and that is one of the main reasons it led to this," he said. The 29-year-old said that he lost his mobility in 2016 and depends solely on a wheelchair to take him around. Prior to that, Thompson said he worked at a store and used a stick and a bicycle to move around.

But he is not the only physically challenged member in the household. His 59-year-old mother Jennifer Thorpe and his 93-year-old great-grandmother, Icilda Bartley, have their own health issues. Thorpe said that she began suffering from severe back pain almost 20 years ago and a doctor told her that she was suffering from poor blood circulation.

"I just couldn't go out and do anything for myself so I end up at University Hospital (of the West Indies) and I was admitted in 2008 and they said it was spinal paralysis, so I am here and I cannot help myself. I coudn't move around but I could stay at my bedside and wash my clothes and tidy myself. I got bed sores and I have to stay in the bed. So, now my legs just stiff out and can't bend at all," she said.

Though they received some assistance from non-profit organisation Bring Back The Love Buff Bay Valley Foundation, as well as a family friend and Thompson's babymother, the needs are great.

"To tell yuh di truth, sometimes we only can cook one time for the day and that is if we have something to cook. I feel very very bad about my son's condition and sometimes I sit down and think about it and it stress me. He is just 29 and he should be enjoying his life and working for himself and to see both of us end up in almost the same situation is very stressing. It's very heart-rending but I tell myself that by the mercy of God, we will be okay," said Thorpe. One of Thompson's greatest wishes is to see his seven-year-old son enrolled in school. He was registered but he does not have the basic necessities to begin grade one.

"He was not in school for most of the pandemic. He would want shoes, bag and so on. He doesn't have any tablet and so on," he said. Thompson said he also desires some assistance for his three stepchildren, who are ages four, three and one.

"I consider them to be my children. Their mother and I are not involved but she looks out for me. The children are also not in school and I wish I could help them," he said.

Thompson said that he has tried farming, but that has brought very little income due to praedial larceny. For the past year, he has been learning about foreign exchange trading.

"I have my accounts but I don't have the capital. All of what I know, I taught myself so that is why I want to get certified," he said.

Persons wishing to assist Marvin Thompson may contact Jennifer Thorpe at 876 813 3095.