AFTER SURVIVING the horrific truck accident of December 19, 2008, which claimed the lives of 14 persons in Portland, Lenford Jackson, who is wheelchair-bound, is in dire need of medical treatment to have any chance of walking again.

Jackson, who sat in his wheelchair eating a bowl of noodles in his one-bedroom board house at Mill Bank in the Rio Grande Valley, declared that since his release from hospital in January, he had received a paltry $20,000 through the Programme of Advancement Through Health Education which was hurriedly used to provide him with the necessary medical treatment.

dependent on a neighbour

"I am unable to walk, and, therefore, I cannot fend for myself," he said. "I am totally dependent on a neighbour, who provides me with warm meals from time to time. I also get a little help from a man who owns a nearby corner shop. Before the accident, I had a farm, but since I was hospitalised, everything was stolen. I need help, as I have to visit the Port Antonio Hospital two days each week for therapy."

The farmer was released from hospital in January after spending more than five weeks there.

According to Jackson, with each visit to the Port Antonio Hospital, a cost of $2,000 is attached for taxi fare, which he cannot afford. He explained that persons from the community had assisted him thus far, but said that they, too, were reeling from the effects of the economic downturn and were no longer able to assist.

"I also have to travel to St Ann's Bay to see the doctor, which costs $7,000 for taxi fare, and even though I am now on a three-month prescription, I am still not able to go as I have no money. The therapy I have received so far has restored the nerves in my left hand. I am also able to hobble around using a walker. There was a time when I felt no life in my left leg, along with my left arm," he further said.

But despite his difficulty, Jackson is grateful to have survived the accident, and is lauding the efforts of Nurse Rackell Wilson, who administered the necessary treatment to him during the more than six hours spent pinned down underneath the ill-fated market truck.

calm and collected

"She deserves a medal. I remember shouting at the top of my lungs for someone to chop off my left leg, as the pain was unbearable. But she was calm, and cautioned everyone to yield to my request, as I could bleed to death. Instead, she administered sedatives, and I fell asleep as calm as a lamb, and because of her, I am alive today," he said tearfully.

Today, Jackson has surrendered his life to God but ponders the reality behind the police's decision to lay charges against the truck driver - who they claim does not have a licence to drive a truck - but have failed to charge the owner of the truck.

Fourteen persons, including a 10-year-old boy, lost their lives on December 19 last year when a truck transporting vendors to Coronation Market in Kingston plunged over a precipice at Dam Bridge in the Rio Grande Valley.

"I am unable to walk, and, therefore, I cannot fend for myself ... . I am totally dependent on a neighbour who provides me with warm meals from time to time.