Relatives, friends remember kind, selfless Dr King

King Dr Kevin Sean King was remembered for his kindness and selfless nature, his humility and his sense of humour as relatives, friends and well-wishers gathered to bid him farewell at a funeral service on May 15 at the Scarborough Roman Catholic Church.

Dr King, employed at the Scarborough General Hospital, died on April 29 at 2.47 am at the Fortis Memorial Research Institute in Gurgaon, India, where he was flown to have an emergency liver transplant but suffered cardiac arrest just hours before the surgery.

On May 15, relatives, classmates at Bishop’s High School, Class of 1994, members of his church and nursing staff at the Scarborough General Hospital paid tribute to the deceased, remembering him as a dedicated doctor who cared for his patients, and also committed to his family.

Cousin Liselle Roberts, in her eulogy, told mourners the last few weeks of Dr King’s life were difficult though he never complained, and that he especially wanted to hold on to his family and have them near when he was hospitalised in India.

She recalled fond memories of Dr King, especially his duty to family.

“Kevin was the son any mother would be proud to call her own, he was loving, caring,” she said, noting that he loved his nephew Kelionas his own son and was always willing to lend a helping hand to family members despite his ailment.

“He was courteous, knowledgeable respectful, hardworking, selfless.”

Roberts also noted Dr King’s passion for his faith.

“I remember one day I prayed with him, I pleaded and pleaded with God and Kevin said, ‘Liselle, stop. You can’t talk to God as if he is just like us, even in all of this, God’s timing is perfect...’ The last words Kevin uttered to his mom was ‘the surgery would not be tomorrow, my work here is finished.’ He understood life, he understood death, he was prepared to die even though we were hoping for a miracle,” she said.

Roberts also thanked Tobagonians who had reached out to the family in a time of need.

“On behalf of my aunt (Dr King’s mother, Florence King) and the entire extended family, we would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who assisted us and assisted Kevin in his time of need...

We hope that Kevin’s short but inspiring life would be an inspiration to all of us on how we should live,” she said.

Speaking on behalf of the nursing staff at the Scarborough General Hospital, Elizabeth Roachford, a nurse in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) who had worked with Dr King for 14 years, recalled their first encounter when she was assigned to the the Operating Theatre in 2008.

“On my second day of employment, Kevin laughed at me, he said, ‘Roachy, you’re here in the baptism of fire, you are doubling today... we real short and you see how you come from Port-of-Spain, well, I go really see if Port-of-Spain teach you a thing or two.’ By 1 o’clock, matron called, and she said, ‘I know you are new, but you have to stay on a surgical ward by yourself.’

“By the time he (Dr King) made rounds and came back, he said ‘you see what I tell you, I hear them downstairs long time and I rubbing it in.’

“The shift passed, and Kevin was on call, he had a lot of cases and one thing I had admired that day is that in spite of all the jokes, Dr Kevin King stood there with me from the beginning of that shift to the ending of my shift.”

Roachford remembered Dr King for his humility and selflessness.

“For the nursing staff, Kevin wasn’t just a doctor, he was a friend, a colleague, a brother, someone who you could have leaned on. He was someone when he came into that room, the room light up a fire, everybody wants to hug him, ask him how was...

“Even during his time in ICU, he was still a doctor lying down on the bed… he was still interested in what was going on in the hospital.”

She said Dr King would inquire which doctor was working in the Operating Theatre and would offer to help if needed, even though he was at the hospital as a patient.

“Kevin depicted the fruit of the Holy Spirit, he showed us joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness. Even in his down time, Kevin never one day nagged, he was just interested in everyone in the hospital...

“Kevin was a remarkable person…kind, extraordinary… always a positive, humble, down to earth person to all the nursing staff at Scarborough General.”

Dr King was laid to rest in a private interment at the Scarborough Roman Catholic cemetery, officiated over by Father Leslie Tang Kai.