Spinal condition sidelines hotel worker

Forty-eight-year-old Kerr Lesman loves athletics and often worked as a track and field official.

On days that he was not partaking in his passion, the Johnson Town, Hanover resident also worked within the hotel industry. But in 2006, he suffered a spinal cord compression.

"I used to work at several resorts as pool attendant and maintenance man. I am a track and field official and other stuff so I was always independent. One day I was at work and was standing up and talking to my supervisor, and a piece a cramp hold mi. Mi step off and the cramp hold mi same way and mi just drop on my face. Mi never did a feel any pain, just bare cramps," he said. Lesman said he went for a check-up at the Cornwall Regional Hospital in St James and checks revealed that he had a spinal injury.

One of the most common symptoms is stiffness or pain in the back or the neck. Numbness or weakness in the legs, hands, and arms can also develop. A condition known as cauda equina syndrome can develop if the compression is in the lumbar area. Those symptoms include severe pain and weakness in the legs, a loss of bowel and bladder control, and severe numbness in the back of the legs and inner thighs. The condition affects fine motor skills and coordination.

"The doctor tell mi say mi have a opening in mi spine and it stretch. Mi go get second and third opinions from UHWI [University Hospital of the West Indies] and KPH [Kingston Public Hospital] and they said the same thing. Mi nah feel nuh pain but bare numbness and cramps. Mi also have to always be in shoes," he said. Despite having the condition for years, Lesman said he felt as if his independence was ripped from him in 2018, when he started needing crutches to help him move around.

Lesman said he urgently needs corrective surgery which costs US$15,300 (approximately $2.3 million) but said he is unable to find even a quarter of the amount. He said the operation is slated to be done in Cuba at the Comercializadora de Servicios Medicos Cubanos, and is seeking the public's assistance in getting the required amount.

"Mi work hard and mi nuh like to beg enuh, but I have no other choice. Mi have to walk with stick because mi have a cramp. Mi can't keep up mi urine. Mi have a hard time to even wipe my bottom and mi can't work the way mi used to. It hold me back to make a living because mi move slower and mi can't climb up and do things and a lot of my work include climbing," Lesman said. Lesman also said that he is often shunned because of his condition.

"A nuff time mi hide the stick dem [crutches] outside or behind vehicles and go for interviews. But because a lot of people know mi in Hanover, it don't usually work out. Mi just wah get over this and get back on with mi life," he said.

Anyone wishing to assist Kerr Lesman may contact him at 876 518 6673.