Family’s hopes dashed as man in coma passes away

For almost three months, Donnavon Smith sat by his son's hospital bed, clinging to hope that he would recover.

But on Saturday morning at exactly 7 a.m., his worst fear became reality when his son, 24-year-old Joseph Smith, took his final breath, leaving his family shattered. Joseph had been in a coma since last year, after a swimming accident. Even in his coma, Joseph showed signs of awareness. His family and doctors observed small responses, because he was able to blink his eyes when asked, and his father recalled the moments of connection with his son.

"When we visited him, we always talked to him, and he would respond with facial movements. You could see his mouth start to move in a certain way, and I would hold his hand and say, 'Joseph, tek it easy.' We would encourage him and seh, 'Hold on Joseph, don't give up,'" Smith shared.

Joseph's tragic ordeal began on November 3, when he joined friends for a swim at Alligator Pond in Manchester. What was supposed to be a day of fun turned into a nightmare when he dived into the water and struck an object, breaking his neck and losing consciousness. A young girl then spotted him floating face down. Joseph was pulled from the water and someone at the scene performed cardio pulmonary resuscitation before he was rushed to the Mandeville Regional Hospital.

Upon his arrival, doctors induced a coman, and a full-body scan was later conducted on Joseph. His family paid for additional private tests, including an electroencephalogram (EEG) and a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. While the EEG provided a glimmer of hope by confirming brain activity, the MRI revealed a severe cervical spine injury and likely spinal cord damage, complicating his condition.

In the last week of November, Joseph underwent cervical surgery, specifically, a C6-7 anterior discectomy and fusion with open reduction of facet dislocation. Doctors subsequently delivered heartbreaking news to his family that he would never walk again. Still, his loved ones held onto hope that one day he would return home.

Smith told THE STAR that the family had started making preparations to care for Joseph at home, even planning to get a specialised wheelchair for him. But their hope was short-lived. Despite medication, Joseph suffered from constant seizures; and even though they were being treated with medication, that only helped for a while. Last week, the constant, severe seizures led to him being declared brain-dead and days later, his fight ended.

"We're just in a sad state. It's emotionally draining. Many times, I find myself crying when I remember him. Every time I remember his laugh, I just wish he was still around," his father said. "He was my seventh child [and] our last son. It's really hard, but we are holding on by the grace of God."