Samira Nasr has been named editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar U.S., according to a Wednesday announcement, making Nasr the first black editor-in-chief at a Hearst-owned publication.
Nasr, a former Vanity Fair fashion director, will begin her Harper's Bazaar tenure on July 6. "As the proud daughter of a Lebanese father and Trinidadian mother, my worldview is expansive and is anchored in the belief that representation matters," Nasr said in an introductory video released by Hearst on Instagram. "My lens by nature is colorful, and so it is important to me to begin a new chapter in Bazaar's history by shining a light on all individuals who I believe are the inspiring voices of our time." Hearst Magazine Chief Content Officer Kate Lewis said Nasr will create "something magical" at Harper's Bazaar, which launched in 1867 out of New York City. Source: The Hill, June 10, 2020
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NIKESHA HAYNES-GILMORE, a TT-born molecular pathologist and research assistant professor at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York, recently received a career development award for cancer research.
Haynes-Gilmore, who grew up in Chaguanas, saw herself becoming a vet as a teen, but said the trajectory of her professional path changed in college after her grandmother died of cancer. The past student of Holy Faith Convent in Couva migrated to the US after completing her A-levels in 2002. For the past 30 years, the Cancer Control Program has done cancer-related research across the US. The programme investigates prevention and management of the side effects associated with cancer and cancer treatment. Haynes-Gilmore is among seven faculty members internationally recognised for their outstanding work in cancer research and treatment. This grant was set up to fund the necessary infrastructure for research-based clinical trials. Haynes-Gilmore was granted the award to help with a pilot randomised clinical trial to investigate the effect of an anti-inflammatory nutritional supplement in reducing inflammation and frailty in older survivors of colon cancer. It has an emphasis on recruiting older black survivors of colon cancer. Pathologists are medical professionals who study bodies and body tissues. Describing her career so far, Haynes-Gilmore said, "I normally will say I am a molecular pathologist by training, with a focus on cancer molecular mechanisms. I have now fused that background with clinical and public health research." Haynes-Gilmore said she hopes to help bring attention to inequities in healthcare. "It is known that racial inequities negatively impact health. Blacks are disproportionately affected by cancer as well as cancer and frailty, meaning cancer and the elderly." Frailty, she explained, "categorises an individual’s physiological reserves and is an important factor for oncologists in determining the risk of chemotherapy toxicity. Inflammation has been shown to be a major contributor to frailty. "However, the majority of research linking inflammation to frailty has not been done in the context of cancer treatment. With my co-authors, I have published that in patients with breast cancer, inflammation prior to cancer treatment and the change of inflammatory markers with chemotherapy is a predictor of post-treatment frailty. We also demonstrated a longitudinal relationship between immune cell profiles and frailty." She said research has shown that in people of African ancestry, there is increased inflammation compared to other racial groups. Asked what causes this, she said preliminary studies found that "socioeconomic status and perceived discrimination were contributors to the increased inflammation." The specific cause of the disparity in inflammation,, she added, "is still being actively researched. Research is suggestive that social determinants are as important or can be even more important than health behaviours as it relates to health." Haynes-Gilmore is excited about getting her study off the ground and said the ultimate goal is to develop interventions that address health inequities, thus aiding black people in achieving their fundamental right of health – an inequity that has been evident in the covid19 pandemic. "Issues related to health inequities are being highlighted again due to covid19. There are reports that people of colour are disproportionately dying from this disease. Many of the reasons for the increased mortality stem from inequities. "I hope that in the future there is more research in health equity and that governments make policy changes to improve health equity for people of colour around the world." For her doctorate in pathology, Haynes-Gilmore studied molecular pathways, some of the smallest pathways in the human body for transmitting information, utilised by cancer to escape recognition by the immune system. The rate of detecting cancerous cells is slowed, as the usual identifying symptoms are limited. Asked to share her research interests and aspirations, she said she is passionate about improving outcomes for older adults with cancer and reducing health inequities faced by people of African ancestry. "This passion stems from my lived experience. I lost my grandmother to cancer; she experienced no treatment benefit despite severe chemotherapy toxicities, reduced quality of life, and physical and functional impairments. "Furthermore, as a female researcher and mother of African descent, I have experienced first-hand the negative effects of inequities on my family’s emotional well-being." This fuelled her aspiration to become an independently-funded translational scientist (scientists who use research to improve human well-being) who designs and implements interventions to improve outcomes for older adults with cancer. "I dream of a future where people like my grandmother can age successfully without concern about the influence of race on their health and well-being." Explaining how her research is applicable to TT, Haynes-Gilmore said, "There was a wonderful epidemiology study recently published about cancer facts and statistics in TT. In this study, it was found that the incidence and mortality rates of most cancers were higher in Trinbagonians of African descent as compared to other racial backgrounds." However, she stressed, "At this time, I am not aware of the rates of frailty or elevated inflammation by racial/ethnic groups in TT." She said if her current work proves effective, she sees no reason why the findings may not be beneficial to the population of TT. A summa cum laude graduate of the historically black Lincoln University, Haynes-Gilmore is a first-generation college student in her family. She did her PhD in pathology at the University of Rochester. Asked what professional challenges she had to overcome, Haynes-Gilmore said, "In my fourth year of completing the PhD, my adviser accepted a job offer at a different university. At that time, I had to restart my thesis project. "But in hindsight, I am reminded of a saying my friends shared with me: We plan and God decides. I think if I didn’t have to restart my thesis with a different adviser, I wouldn’t be doing the research that I am doing today and I love what I am doing." As an international student in the US, she said there are also challenges – some opportunities available only to US citizens. "It was challenging for me to find a research internship. I was unable to secure a research internship until my junior year of college. "So instead of directly applying to go to grad school at the end of college, I decided to take a year off. In this time, I was able to work as a research technician and in doing so, gain some skills to help me be competitive in applying for graduate school...I think that this year off was extremely beneficial personally and professionally and helped pave the way for what I am doing today." Having accomplished all she has as a woman of colour from the Caribbean, Haynes-Gilmore said she feels a deep sense of pride and hopes to serve as a source of encouragement for young women from the Caribbean to chase their dreams regardless of their current life situations. "Our current situation should not be the canvas for what our future should look like." She emphasised the importance of collaboration, highlighting teamwork as a way of building individuals by supporting each other. "The field that I work in is collaborative. We believe we are stronger and go further if we do it together. You would notice when I told you about my research I used 'we' pretty often. "That is because it is all a team effort. We work together and we support each other in all of our endeavours. Honestly, I think if this model could be adopted broadly, we would see greater things being achieved as a society. In this model, as I step forward, or someone else on my team steps forward, we pull along the others. It might mean that instead of you yourself going forward ten steps you only went forward one step, but if you count all the steps that went forward, it’s probably now 20 or more steps forward. So collectively we made more progress." A wife and mother of two, a son and a daughter, she said she keeps motivated by the impact her work has on families. "In the field of cancer, you always hear stories from patients and/or their families. Stories about how much their life changed as a result of their diagnosis. How many issues they still face even after their cancer is cured. "Helping these patients have a better quality of life is my motivation. In the context of health equity, knowing that inequity results in a host of negative health outcomes is also a driving motivation. My colleagues and I frequently chat about what we can do to reduce health inequities and with this clinical trial I hope that this can help in some way." Her message for people seeking to follow their professional dreams is, "When you are afraid to chase your dreams, sit and ask yourself what are you afraid of and be honest with yourself about the answer." She said people are often afraid of failing, but added, through failure there are many lessons. "So go ahead, chase your dream. If you succeed right away, amazing. If you don’t – like most of us – give yourself a short time to grieve your failure, then evaluate the lessons learned from that attempt and try again. We are all stronger than we think." Haynes-Gilmore wished to encourage readers with a message she would have given to her 16-year-old self: "You got this. Keep your chin up, keep pushing. God has a plan for you." Source: Newsday, June 2, 2020 Dr. Alexandra Amon is an astrophysicist from the sister islands of Trinidad and Tobago. In June of last year, she won the Michael Penston Prize for the best doctoral thesis in astronomy or astrophysics completed in the United Kingdom during 2018 with her thesis titled, “Cosmology with the Kilo-Degree Lensing Survey.” The Michael Penston prize, a very prestigious award, is presented annually by the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) in the United Kingdom. Dr. Amon was also the 2019 runner up for the Jocelyn Bell Burnell Medal and Prize, which is awarded annually by the Institute of Physics in the UK for exceptional early-career contributions to physics by a very early career female physicist. In an email interview with us, Dr. Amon humbly explained her role as an astrophysicist,
“I’m an astrophysicist, or more specifically, an observational cosmologist. Those are fancy-sounding words that just mean I spend my days doing scientific research to answer questions about our universe.” Dr. Amon grew up in Maraval, Trinidad and Tobago, and attended St. Joseph’s Convent, Port of Spain. She then attended the University of Edinburgh in Scotland on an island scholarship to complete a master’s in physics. Dr. Amon also completed her PhD at the same university and is currently a research fellow at Stanford University in the United States. From a young age, Dr. Amon dreamed of becoming an astronaut. She noted that a major turning point in her life was when she attended the International Summer School of Young Physicists at the Perimeter Institute in Canada. She described the experience as being “totally life-changing,” and that it gave her exposure to a career in astrophysics. Also, she realised that one way to become an astronaut was to pursue a doctoral degree. So to keep her options open, she decided to pursue a PhD. Despite many challenges along the journey studying abroad, Dr. Amon remained grounded in her Trinidadian roots. “Trinidad is a small place, but I think that the way we grow up there makes us ready for challenges anywhere,” she expressed. She also noted that working in large international teams could be challenging at times, but growing up in diverse Caribbean communities with different cultures cultivates tolerance and acceptance of people with various backgrounds. “Trinidad and the Caribbean are such melting pots of culture, that we grow up very accepting of people’s differences, and even valuing them! That’s a skill not to be under-estimated!” Another challenge she faces while studying abroad is the lack of authentic Caribbean food. Although, Dr. Amon thinks a general stereotype attached to being from the Caribbean is that we are “laid back,” she expressed that her upbringing taught her how to work hard as well as play hard. In her free time, she enjoys doing outreach programs to spread her love of space. She also enjoys yoga, gardening, surfing, and any sport involving the sun. An interesting detail she shared with us is that in the standard model of the universe, everything we know only makes up for 4% of its total mass. The normal observable matter, like the stars and planets, are just tiny fragments of the entire universe! The other 96% of space, known as dark matter and dark energy, is still a mystery. As a cosmologist, Dr. Amon gets to work on solving this mystery. Currently, she works with an international team analysing vast amounts of data retrieved from a telescope located on a mountain peak in Chile. Something important to take away from Dr. Amon would be her inspiring words of advice to aspiring astrophysicists from the Caribbean. She says to “work hard at the things you love,” and that “there is no replacement for hard work, and hard work is so much easier if there’s passion.” She also stressed that during the journey, it is crucial to stay true to one’s roots. “Along the way, stay true to yourself and your roots. It’s tempting to let that go to ‘fit in,’ but being from the Caribbean is unique, and minority opinions in these fields are valuable.” Source: Stem Caribbean, May 2020 Race relations campaigner who served in many public roles and became the first black female governor of the BBC As general secretary and co-founder of the Campaign Against Racial Discrimination (Card) in the mid-1960s, Jocelyn Barrow, who has died aged 90, helped to pave the way for the 1965 Race Relations Act, which for the first time made racial discrimination illegal in Britain. Later she became the first black female governor of the BBC and an important black presence on a number of public bodies, including the Broadcasting Standards Council and the Parole Board.
Jocelyn’s involvement in the creation of Card was sparked by an inspirational meeting she had in London in 1964 with the American civil rights activist Martin Luther King, who was passing through the UK on his way to Norway to receive the Nobel peace prize. “King was warm and charming, and wanted to give us an idea of what we should be doing,” she said. “It helped to crystallise our ideas and we went on to form Card.” While there were other influential groups that had already been applying pressure for race relations legislation in Britain – and attempts to pass private members’ bills had been going on for a number of years before 1965 – the creation of Card undoubtedly helped to galvanise Harold Wilson’s Labour government into support for an officially sanctioned bill which it then steered through parliament. Three years later, during the successful nationwide campaign that led to a new, updated 1968 Race Relations Act, Jocelyn accepted my invitation (as Card’s northern regional secretary) to lead a march against racism in Newcastle upon Tyne. The hostility towards it was phenomenal, the local press signalled the potential danger of busloads of National Front demonstrators arriving from Leeds, and the Northumbrian police tried to get the march banned altogether. Its leaders received threats to their personal safety, and Jocelyn was warned not to travel to Tyneside at all. Travel she did, however, and the march went ahead peacefully. Without a megaphone (her voice was commandingly loud), Jocelyn addressed a gathering of several hundred demonstrators, speaking of her upbringing and how it had shaped her fight against racial discrimination. Born in Port of Spain, Trinidad, Jocelyn was the daughter of Olive (nee Pierre) and her Barbadian husband, Charles Barrow, an engineer. After attending St Joseph’s Convent school in Port of Spain she trained as a teacher at the city’s governmental teacher training college, and arrived in the UK in 1959 to pursue an English degree at London University, followed by postgraduate studies at the Institute of Education. She remained in the UK for the rest of her life, and throughout the 1960s and 70s taught English at schools in Hackney, one of the most deprived areas of east London, later becoming a lecturer at Furzedown teacher training college in Tooting, south London. As an educationist who fervently believed in multiculturalism, she could not stomach the yawning gap between well-resourced schools for mainly middle-class white children and poorly resourced schools for mainly working-class black children. Her experiences in the classroom prompted her to set up a local project called Each One Teach One, designed to help black children and their families support each other educationally. However, although her teaching had its own significance, it was her more general work on race relations that garnered wider attention. She was general secretary and then vice chair of Card from 1964 to 1969, and immediately after the passage of the 1968 Race Relations Act, which made discrimination in housing and employment illegal, she was appointed a member of the Community Relations Commission, set up to co-ordinate national measures to encourage the “growth of harmonious relations” between different races. She served on that body until, after the 1976 Race Relations Act, it was amalgamated with the Race Relations Board to form the Commission for Racial Equality. Later, as a member of the Parole Board (1983–87), and particularly as the first black female governor of the BBC (1981 to 1988), she initiated programmes that encouraged young black and Asian people to fulfil their potential. She was also chair of the Equal Opportunities Commission on Training Barristers and was a patron, since its foundation in 1981, of the Black Cultural Archives. Much of Jocelyn’s public work was not directly connected to race, however. From 1989 to 1995 she was deputy chair of the Broadcasting Standards Council, forerunner of Ofcom, and from 1993 to 1999 she was a non-executive director of the Whittington Hospital NHS Trust in London, where she pleaded for better employment conditions and promotion opportunities for non-trained auxiliary nurses and carers. She also became founder and president of the Hackney Community housing association (1978 until her death); national vice president of the Townswomen’s Guild (1978–80); a member of the European commission’s economic and social committee (1990–98); a trustee of the National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside (now National Museums Liverpool), and a governor of the British Film Institute (1991–97). These and many more largely community-based organisations benefited enormously from her spirited commitment – and also from her refusal to suffer fools gladly. Jocelyn, whose anger against injustice was carefully cloaked beneath an aura of dignified authority, liked to practise what she called “pincher politics”, which she once described to me as “a bottom-up/top-down approach, with the purpose of pinching the establishment into action and reform”. It was a method that was as psychological and cultural as it was political and educational – a little Machiavellian, perhaps, but always purposeful and often highly successful. What drove Jocelyn – or “DJB” as she was affectionately known after being made a dame in 1992 – was the belief that she was entitled to be part of a society more equal than the one she had known either in her colonial birthplace or in the Britain of the 60s into which she later emerged. In her last major intervention, in 2005, Jocelyn returned to education, the field that was closest to her heart, to head a nationwide consultation commissioned by the United Learning Trust into the role of underperforming would-be Academy schools. She found that the 20 schools that she studied were in various degrees discriminatory on the grounds of race, and concluded that a new and inclusive approach needed to be adopted. She retired in 2013. In 1970 Jocelyn married Henderson Downer, a barrister and later a Jamaican appeal court judge who retired in 2004. For most of their long marriage they lived between the UK and Jamaica, enjoying their independence, separation, and togetherness in equal measure; Henderson coming to London for Christmas, Easter and a month in the summer while Jocelyn went to Jamaica from January to March. She is survived by Henderson and by two nieces, Christine and Leslie Anne, whom she raised at her home in Bloomsbury, central London. • Jocelyn Anita Barrow, race relations campaigner and teacher, born 15 April 1929; died 9 April 2020 Source: The Guardian, May 27, 2020 Poet Roger Robinson has won the £10,000 RSL Ondaatje Prize for his “profoundly moving” A Portable Paradise (Peepal Tree Press), which includes a sequence of poems reflecting on the Grenfell Tower fire. The annual prize rewards the best work of fiction, non-fiction or work of poetry that best evokes a sense of place. A Portable Paradise, which also won the T S Eliot Prize last year, was named the winner on 4th May across the RSL's media channels. The poet said: “Winning the RSL Ondaatje Prize is great on many levels. Gaining wider recognition for the political issues that are raised in A Portable Paradise is one of the most important things for me, alongside more people reading about the struggles of black communities in Britain which hopefully creates some deeper resonating empathy.” A writer and educator who has taught and performed worldwide, Robinson was chosen by Decibel as one of 50 writers who have influenced the black British writing canon. He is also co-founder of both Spoke Lab and the international writing collective Malika’s Kitchen, alongside being the lead vocalist and lyricist for King Midas Sound. His work was chosen from a shortlist featuring Robert Macfarlane's Underland (Hamish Hamilton), Elif Shafak's 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World (Viking), Jumoke Verissimo's debut A Small Silence (Cassava Republic), Surge by Jay Bernard (Chatto & Windus) and Tishani Doshi's Small Days and Nights (Bloomsbury Circus). Judge Peter Frankopan branded the winner “a fabulous and ingenious work that seethes in its condemnation of injustices but sparkles in its tenderness and subtlety and revels in celebration at the things that make us all unique”. Fellow judge Pascale Petit said: “Roger Robinson’s profoundly moving book manages to balance anger and love, rage and craft. Every poem surprises with its imagery, emotional intensity and lyric power, whether dealing with Grenfell, 'Windrush', or a son’s difficult birth, which is also a tribute to a Jamaican nurse. This is a healing book, enabling us to conjure our own portable paradises.” Source: TheBookseller.com, May 4, 2020 (Robinson was born in Hackney, London, to Trinidadian parents, and at the age of four went with them to live in Trinidad, returning to England when he was 19[6] in the 1980s. He initially lived with his grandmother in Ilford, Essex, before moving to Brixton, an area of south London that he found more congenial.[8] He describes himself as "a British resident with a Trini sensibility". He was chosen by arts organisation Decibel as one of 50 writers who have influenced black-British writing over the past 50 years). Arnold Aldren Hughes 1938 - 2020 It is with great sadness that the family of Arnold Hughes announce his passing on Thursday, April 23, 2020 at Credit Valley Hospital in Mississauga. For 81 years he lived a life of adventures with a commitment to the excellence and advancement of Caribbean carnival culture, namely with a passion for costume design and creation a.k.a “mas.” He passed peacefully surrounded by his loved ones. Costume Designer. Band Leader Husband to Jean (deceased). He was born on May 1, 1938 in Trinidad, West Indies to Leonard and Agatha Hughes. He grew up in Marabella and moved to Canada in 1969. While he was part of other Mas organizations, he produced his first band in Canada in 1987. He won the coveted Band of The Year title twice (1988 and 1993). Over the years he also had numerous winning character costumes in both the Junior and Senior King & Queen competition; in 2019 his Senior Queen costume won first place for Toronto Revellers. He was well liked and respected by many in the Toronto Carnival community. Arnold was passionate about hockey and was a life-long fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs. He most recently became a Toronto Raptors fan. rinidad-born Dr Michael Pillai, 28, is one of the ‘heroes’ working on the frontline in a hospital in East Brooklyn, New York.Pillai, who is originally from Diego Martin, is an internal medicine resident and is in his second year of residency.Working through this COVID-19 pandemic happened to fall during his training so he did not have a choice but to work. “I was needed at the hospital. In a matter of months the way we once knew life had changed. The cases increased rapidly and so did the complications,” Pillai said. “I’ve worked in the ICU as well as on the admitting team during this period. While in the ICU the entire unit was COVID positive of varying ages. During admittance, more than 90 per cent of admissions to the hospital were due to respiratory problems from COVID-19. It was necessary to create new areas of the hospital to accommodate the amount of COVID-19 patients and residents from all specialties were helping with the work that was necessary,” he added. Pillai, in sharing his experience with Guardian Media, said the work load increased “exponentially and more was expected of us as physicians.” He said it has taken an emotional toll both on families and on health care workers including nurses and physicians. “The death rate increased substantially as did the amount of codes being called for rapidly deteriorating patients. I have personally seen people that I work with who have suffered from this virus that lead them needing critical management. These include; doctors, nurses, clerks, respiratory therapists,” Pillai said. “Though I would say the number of admissions for COVID-19 has been decreasing comparing last week to the prior week. This virus is affecting people of all ages especially with rapid deterioration in the obese population necessitating ventilator support,” he added. Pillai said COVID-19 causes a decreased oxygen level amongst some patient called hypoxia, “This lack of oxygen causes respiratory distress necessitating oxygen delivery to these patients by external measures. When these patients do not respond to external measures of oxygen delivery then the decision is made for intubation and connection to a ventilator.” “Some of these patient’s with COVID-19 develop Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) and at this point the chances of successful extubation from the ventilator decreases significantly. It is also important to note that these are with the critical patients,” he added. Pillai noted that people are also recovering with supportive care such as treating the fevers, adequate hydration and self-isolation, “During this pandemic visitors have not been allowed due to the risk of spread of the virus. That being said, patients’ families have to be called daily with updates on patient care as they cannot see their family members so there are unfortunate cases where people are dying alone under these circumstances.” This process, he further explained, has been difficult in many aspects “but it is important that we work with what we have and work together to operate as efficiently as possible.” In giving advice to T&T, Pillai urged all to, “stay at home and refrain from gatherings.” “Remember to leave your shoes outside your door and wipe your phones and your glasses. We are facing this pandemic together and it is important that we look out for each other and maintain social distance,” he said. “I often wonder if I would have chosen to go into medicine had I anticipated something like this. In the grand scheme of things we all have our part to play, this just happens to be mine, and I humbly embrace it,” he added. Source: TT Guardian, May 3, 2020 Trinidadian born Judge Helen Whitener has been appointed to the Washington State Supreme Court. Supreme Court Justices are elected by voters to six-year terms. Whitener who left Trinidad when she was 16 years old, to attend college in the US, was a criminal litigator in the US for 14 years, as both a prosecutor and defence attorney before she became a judge.
She earned her bachelor’s degree from Baruch College in New York and her law degree from Seattle University School of Law. She also serves as co-chair of the Washington State Minority and Justice Commission and as a member of the Civil Legal Aid Oversight Committee. Last year, Whitener was awarded the Washington State Bar Association’s C.Z. Smith Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Award, the King County Washington Women Lawyers President Award, the Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association’s Diversity Award and the Seattle University School of Law’s Woman of the Year Award. Judge Whitener visited Trinidad in June 2015 as part of the U.S. Embassy’s celebration of June as National Caribbean American Heritage and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride (LGBT) months. She is openly gay, according to the US Embassy in Port of Spain. TT-born nurses based in the US Ria Anderson, left, and Lisa-Marie John WITH almost half the US covid19 deaths in the state of New York, and almost 10,000 in the city, Marabella-born US-trained nurse Lisa-Maria John said she hopped on a plane to what is now referred to as “ground zero” because she was bound by duty. Coming from a family of nurses, with three aunts and two cousins caring for the sick, the 32-year-old progressive-care nurse said she left the safety of Virginia, where the pandemic is not as widespread, took a 21-day contract, grabbed a one-hour flight, and the next day began caring for patients with the most severe cases of the virus. As of Saturday morning, New York State had 222,284 cases and 14,636 deaths, and New York City had 131,263 cases, with 8,893 deaths. “The outbreak is nowhere as bad as it is in New York,” John said. “It can’t be compared to anywhere else in the world right now except for maybe Italy.” No one knows the seriousness of the disease’s effect on the state as well as Ria Anderson, who works in another hospital in New York City. Born and raised in Maloney, Anderson, 43, contracted covid19 on the job. She spent less than a week at home. Now she is back at work, caring for her patients, with the mindset that it will get better, and until that happens, she will do all she can. Both women spoke with Sunday Newsday via WhatsApp calls and texts. Anderson’s only regret is passing the virus to her four-year-old son Ethan. “Initially I was scared, not for myself but my son,” explained Anderson, a single mother. “Unfortunately he had mild symptoms and had to be isolated for 14 days. “I had a lot of guilt. But I knew we were both healthy and would overcome it. My family, on the other hand – that includes my cousins, aunts and brothers – were very concerned and scared that the outcome would not be favourable. “Now that I feel good and back out to work they (gave) a sigh of relief.” Anderson developed symptoms on March 24, was tested two days later and on April 3 was confirmed positive. Her treatment was Tylenol and keeping herself hydrated. By April 9 she was back to work, having been cleared to return. PPE protection a must With over eight years as an ICU-trained nurse, Anderson said she has had the burden of watching patients suffering the worst effects of the virus, and, with visits banned, patients dying without their loved ones around them. John, whose contract ends on April 21, said she has worked 12-hour shifts for 13 days without a break. Her first day off was on April 15. She spent most of it sleeping, and the rest replenishing her groceries and “taking in some fresh air and sunlight.” She too fights the virus in the ICU, which is outside her specialty as a progressive care nurse. But, she said, “This is not the first disease that nurses have faced. If you are afraid of a disease, then do not become a nurse. You are trained – use the training. “I do not work if I do not have the personal protective equipment (PPE); it is in my contract. If I get sick, then I will have to tell my patients to go around and make room for me. So it is important that health care workers are protected.” While John has all the PPE she needs, Anderson said there were times when it was in short supply, but the job had to be done. She recalled at one time reusing the same mask for an entire week. “I understand there’s limited supplies, but the changing of guidelines to accommodate insufficient materials is not the answer, and, most importantly, I believe is not safe. “The suggestion at one time of using a bandanna instead of an N95 mask is beyond me.” That suggestion is on the website of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) as one of several “strategies or options to optimize supplies of facemasks in healthcare settings” for professionals, as a last resort when no facemasks are available. Mental strength dealing with covid19 Anderson said: “All the patients that I have been caring for have covid19. Unfortunately, a few of them passed away. “This has been the most heartbreaking experience. No one is allowed to have visitors, due to hospitals being on lockdown, because of the exposure that guests can bring to the hospital. They are all alone, and I am one of the few people they see.” Meanwhile, “As nurses, we are constantly going into the rooms of patients who are positive, exposing ourselves to the virus.” But rather than being worried for herself, she said: “I still haven’t fully processed everything that has been going on in the world, but I am thankful to be there for those in time of dire need. “Since being tested, I’m so grateful for my life and being able to overcome this virus. I have never been so grateful for my health. Every night I fall asleep I thank God I’m healthy. Every morning I wake up I thank God for another day. I thank God for putting me in a position to help others. “I wonder what type of scars this will leave on us. What type of bond that it will create? “As much as I want to run, this is my role. This is what God put me here to do. In spite of the fear that this coronavirus brings, I do not hesitate to get up, get ready and help fight, by taking care of all patients.” John wakes up at 4 am every day to catch a chartered bus to work. “Physically, the level of exhaustion I have – I don’t know how I keep going, even as a healthy person I don’t know what is driving me... “(But) there are no words to describe how difficult it is to lose three to five patients in a day. I tell myself: ‘There are sick people out there. Get up and get to work.’” She added, “You know, I hate being called a hero. This is just part of the job.” Not everyone around them has been able to accept the risks they have chosen to face. “My parents were upset when I told them I was going to New York,” John said. Asked what she did to calm them down, she answered “You ever tried calming a Trini parent?” Her family are more reconciled to her choice now, and daily phone calls after she returns to her apartment around 8 pm usually soothe their worries. Anderson said she was offered but is yet to access the counselling provided by her hospital. Both women are studying for master’s degrees in nursing. Anderson hopes to graduate next year as a family nurse practitioner, and John is scheduled to graduate in December in nursing education. NY nurses’ advice to TT Speaking from the epicentre of the covid19 pandemic, the two nurses offered this advice. Anderson said, “My advice is to stay home, practise proper hygiene and safe distance to stop coronavirus. Simple.” John was not as succinct: “I know we as a people abhor being told what to do. We walk to the beat of our (own) drums. “However, this isn’t the time for that. “Some may ask, ‘Well, who is you? You just a nurse!’ “Well, I am the nurse who has seen the most patient deaths in her nine-year career. I am the nurse who watched people in their 30s fight for their lives. I am the nurse who listens to the cries of someone begging to not let them die. I am the nurse holding the iPad so a patient’s children can say their goodbyes over FaceTime. “I don’t want my experiences for your family. “This is not the time to be selfish and ignore social-distancing measures because you ‘can’t fight the boredom of being home.’ The only way to curb the spread of covid19 is to social-distance and stay home!” Source: Newsday, April 22, 2020 For just about 30 minutes yesterday, Trinidad born rapper Nicki Minaj spent time bonding with students of the St Jude’s Home for Girls in Belmont. Minaj, seated next to Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith, spent the time discussing several topics as the students asked her numerous questions about her initial motivation to become a recording artiste to the relationship that became her eventual marriage to Kenneth Petty last year. “I met Mr Petty when I was 17 years old, first of all,” said Minaj in a full Trini accent. “When I met him as a teenager, I was like oh God, typical bad boy, I’m not gonna be able to lock him down, get out of here. And then he turned out to be... all of that (good)stuff. He’s just that on the outside,” she said. She added, “And he became exactly what I needed for the balance in my life.” Minaj also spoke on the effect of drugs, romantic relationships as a teenage and even her teenage pregnancy and subsequent abortion as she tried to use her life as a lesson for the girls at the home. “Even in my teenage years, I didn’t know which way I was gonna turn. I had a lot of things going on, I’ve experienced being in a home with domestic violence. I’ve experienced you know, being at a very difficult crossroad in my life as a teenager and sometimes as a teenager when things happen you feel like there’s no up from there sometimes,” said Minaj. “I don’t know what is going on in your life but it feels so difficult when you’re going through it, but you will get through it. You will get out of it. I was one of those girls who experienced being pregnant as a teenager and you know I was so ashamed to tell my mother that. Till this day I never told my mother. I felt like I let myself down, and I felt like if anyone were to find out my whole family would be ashamed of me,” she said. She added, “I want you guys to use, if you want to use my life as a lesson in the fact that there are always better days ahead. I want you guys to be encouraged.” “There has to be something inside of you, even right now today that decides, you’re gonna win no matter what. No matter what comes at you,” Minaj told the girls. Minaj also hosted an impromptu talent show in which some girls sang Beyonce’s Halo as well as Minaj’s 2014 hit Pills and Potions. She was however impressed with a spoken word piece by one of the girls and expressed some regret that she had not recorded the performance to social media. They then convinced Minaj, with the aid of a smartphone do a verse from her hit song Megatron and a couple lines from her verse on Motorsport. Minaj also asked the students what they felt they needed in the community, as she said she hoped to create a space for the youths in the area. Before leaving, Minaj donated $US25,000 to home. Source: Trinidad Guardian, Feb 2020 |
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