Guitarist Ng Wai returned to ICU

Guitarist and producer Joey Ng Wai has relapsed and returned to the intensive care unit (ICU) at the Port of Spain General Hospital. His sister Sharon Ng Wai-Pantin said he needed assistance to breathe and doctors were doing the best they could for him.

Speaking to Newsday on January 16, Ng Wai-Pantin said her brother was re-admitted on January 16, after being moved to the high dependency unit (HDU) on January 8.

“He got fever and there’s infection somewhere. The pneumonia is beating him, it’s very much there and his breathing is not good. They’re trying their best with him constantly. They had to put him back there because his sugar levels spiked, all these things happening but they are not sure why, it’s just sort of baffling to them.

“They have him back on oxygen, his breath is not good, he doesn't have strong breathing. He has to use an incentive spirometer to assist him in breathing. You have to pull in air to breathe and he can’t. He did it three times and then his oxygen started to spike again so they had to stop. As soon as it gets too much, they have to stop.”

An incentive spirometer helps prevent lung infections by expanding and strengthening the lungs, keeping them inflated and clearing mucus and other secretions from the chest and lungs, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

Ng Wai has been in hospital since December 29 and was sedated. On January 3, Ng Wai-Pantin said he got the flu and unsuccessfully tried to treat it at home.

She said he also has sleep apnea – a disorder in which breathing stops and starts repeatedly during sleep. He was intubated to assist his breathing.

Ng Wai-Pantin said the family did not know how long he would remain in ICU or what the outcome would be. She said Ng Wai was conscious and coherent when she visited him on January 16.

“Over the last few days he wasn’t comprehending but today he is. He spoke to me and I told him, ‘You have no idea how many people called, how many people want to come, how many people just sending love and praying.

"'It’s the biggest prayer circle, so many people from all over the world praying’. He laughed and said, ‘I could imagine,’ and I said, ‘No you can’t, you can’t imagine.’

"I told him, ‘I love you.’

“He said he’s bothered, he feels bothered, his mind is bothered about all this that’s going on, and I said, ‘Do not, do not. You do not be bothered by it, it will not help you.

"'Your body has to fight. The doctors are giving you medication, you have to take it in your body and deal with it. You have to help yourself like that, don’t be bothered, it’s not going to help you right now, you understand?’ and he said ‘Yeah.’”

Ng Wai-Pantin said time would tell what happened. She asked TT to keep Ng Wai in their prayers.

The popular guitarist has performed with numerous bands over the years, including Second Imij and Frantic.