Yahneake Sterling, Staff Reporter

WALCOTT

ELEVEN months after young Sheneil Walcott's life took a dark turn when she was doused with acid, the light at the end of the tunnel is just a flight away.

On November 22 last year, Sheneil, 17 years old at the time, was visiting her boyfriend at his home, when a woman entered the house and drenched her with the searing liquid.

While seeking assistance from neighbours, she was blanketed by darkness, only to regain consciousness in the Kingston Public Hospital with third-degree burns. Her left ear was melted, her left eye severely damaged and her upper body disfigured.

Some help has now arrived for Sheneil. The advocacy group Leaf of Life, located in New York, has secured surgery for her.

Spearheaded by children's advocate Jennifer Chalmers, Sheneil now 18, will receive corrective surgery over the next two years from a team of plastic surgeons at the burn unit at the Nassau Medical Centre in Long Island. The team will be led by the head of plastic surgery, Dr. Louis Riina, and plastic surgeon Dr. Allan Cantor.

"There will be three surgeries that will be done right away when she gets here. They will fix her eyelids, her lips and her ears," Mrs Chalmers explained.

The surgeries will be done at a charity rate and will be paid for by the Nassau Medical Centre, Leaf of Life, the Caribbean Immigrant Services Youth Core and the Jamaican Consulate in New York.

Visas

Sheneil will depart the island as soon as visas are secured from the U.S. Embassy in Kingston, for her and her mother.

When contacted, Sheneil, who was overjoyed with the news, told The Gleaner that she was happy with being accepted to do the corrective surgery.

"I am thankful for it. At least I can move on with my life and go back to school," she said.

She added that the past few months had been difficult, but she has been able to cope.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Chalmers expressed her disappointment with the Jamaican health system and the snail pace at which it has dealt with the situation.

According to the children's advocate, the charity group Leaf of Life has been trying to access the medical records for Sheneil for the past five months, but to date, the records have not been received.