Cancer patient loses battle

STEPAN Persad was battling acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), but he and his family were hopeful he would win that fight. Persad lost the battle on Tuesday morning when he took his last breath.

Persad, 29, from La Romaine, was admitted to Medical Associates hospital in St Joseph on Friday night with breathing problems. He was put in the intensive care unit (ICU) but fell into a coma around 12.30 am on Tuesday and died about 4.25 am.

His mother Denyse, who must now come to terms with the loss of her child and the second death in her family in just under two years, said the grief is unbearable. “It is a very sad day for the Persad family. We were just getting over the death of his father, who passed in 2018, and now this.

“We are all still in shock. His sister Sian and fiancée Crystal Kowlessar have...been crying since.” Persad was diagnosed with AML in January and after being treated in Cuba was hopeful that the funds needed for his next round of treatment would be raised. He needed $2.4 million for treatment at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, US.

His family started a GoFundMe account and well-wishers, family and friends chipped in by holding additional fundraisers to help him. One of his best friends, Michael Mohess, said Persad had big plans, but believed God had a bigger plan for him. “He was a good person. All he wanted was to get married to his fiancée and live his life and to also take care of his mom and sister.

“He will always be remembered as the person who will bring the life to the party. He is in the heavens with his dad watching over his family.” Another friend, Sashi Maharaj, said Persad called him over the weekend and Maharaj had been sure he was recovering.

“He called and said he was doing fine. But then he began getting worse very fast, and then we could not get him back. His last wish was to see his sister, but I do not know if he was ever able to.” Persad’s funeral takes place at the Susamachar Presbyterian Church on Coffee Street, San Fernando, on Saturday.