AT THE tender age of six, Tishon Camps is rapidly experiencing the highs and lows, the joys and heartbreaks of life.
Less than a week after he was hailed a hero for rescuing his grandfather Noel Luces who suffered a stroke while driving with the youngster in Marabella, Luces died at the San Fernando General Hospital on Tuesday evening.
Added to this heartbreak, the brave youngster is also having to come to terms with the fact that his father who was charged and went before the courts, is now in jail having been remanded into custody after efforts to post bail failed.
Luces, 63, died at about 9 pm on Tuesday in hospital. An autopsy yesterday at the San Fernando Mortuary confirmed that Luces died from complications arising out of the stroke and a subsequent cardiac arrest (heart attack).
Luces, a former national cyclist and coach at the Rig Tech Sonics Cycling club located in Pleasantville, San Fernando was on a ventilator at Ward 9 of the hospital following the stroke.
Last week Wednesday, Luces had just come off Bay Road in Marabella and turned at the intersection to continue along the By Pass Road heading toward San Fernando to drop off Tishon at school, when he suffered a stroke. Luces lost consciousness and slumped on the seat.
Tishon who was the front seat passenger acted quickly and pulled the steering wheel to keep his grandfather’s SUV from going into a drain.
He then pulled up the handbrakes to stop the vehicle. Subsequently, Tishon flagged down officers in a passing police vehicle for help. Police officers contacted the Emergency Services and Luces was taken to the San Fernando General Hospital.
On Tuesday, young Tishon was celebrated by his class and schoolmates as Karen Mitchell the Principal of his school — Jordan Hill Presbyterian Primary School — presented him with a medal for his bravery. Hours later that same day, Luces died at hospital. Meanwhile, Tishon’s father Joel Ramkissoon of Corinth Road in Princes Town appeared before Magistrate Lisa Ramsumair-Hinds yesterday in the San Fernando Magistrates’ Court where he pleaded not guilty to a charge of marijuana possession. He was placed on $40,000 bail, but was later remanded into custody when the bail could not be posted. He returns to court on April 5.
Tishon began living with his grandfather when he was only a few months old after his parents separated. His mother lives in the United States.
He and older brother Joshua, 12, lived with their grandfather at his Pleasantville home. Their sister Aaliyah, ten, lives with Tishon’s paternal grandmother Kamla Ramkissoon in Princes Town. Since Luces’ stroke, both Tishon and Joshua have been staying with Ramkissoon.
Ramkissoon told Newsday that when she got the news of Luces’ passing on Tuesday night, she was shocked and then panicked as she did not know how or what to tell Tishon and his brother Joshua, 12.
She said she waited for the morning (yesterday) and then hugged Tishon, Joshua and their sister ten-year-old Aaliyah as she tried to explain to them that Luces, had died. Ramkissoon said that while Joshua became silent, Aaliyah started to scream and shout, “it’s not true!”
Tishon, Ramkissoon said, appeared puzzled at the news. “ Tishon told me, ‘how did he die? What is die? I want to go and see my grandpa!,” Ramkissoon said.
By this time, she added, she too was in tears as she told Tishon and the other siblings they won’t see their grandfather again. At this news, she said, Tishon’s eyes filled with tears.
Ramkissoon said that when she later tried to explain death to Tishon and how a dead person is placed in the ground and buried, Tishon told her, “I going with grandpa in the hole when he going. I going too.”
Tishon spent yesterday in the company of his siblings and other relatives while funeral arrangements were being made for Luces.
At an earlier interview last week with Newsday, Tishon expressed his deep love for his grandfather and said he wanted to see him.
He got that wish on Saturday afternoon when Ramkisson took him to hospital to see Luces.
Her voice breaking with emotion, Ramkissoon last night appealed for professional help to counsel not only Tishon but also Joshua and Aaliyah as they try to deal with Luces’ death.
-Vashtee Archiber
Source: www.newsday.co.tt