Parang Association rallies behind ailing singer Susan Maicoo

There has been overwhelming support for parang singer Susan Maicoo, 62, who remains warded at the San Fernando General Hospital (SFGH) with a condition yet to be diagnosed.

Among those sending prayers and best wishes for her speedy recovery is Joanne Briggs, PRO of the National Parang Association.

In a February 16 interview, Briggs said she was saddened to learn the beloved parang singer is fighting what is believed to be a life-threatening ailment affecting some of her vital organs.

Briggs said the entire parang community was praying for her recovery.

She encouraged the nation also to pray for Maicoo's husband, Rawle and their family, and send positive vibrations to them so the singer could feel the energy and fight back.

Newsday first reported Maicoo’s condition and her husband's appeal to pray for the Fyzabad-born singer on February 14.

Rawle told Newsday his wife started showing flu-like symptoms believed to have been contracted from relatives who had returned from a Christmas vacation in England.

Coming to the end of January, he said, she started feeling unwell and her condition worsened. She experienced excruciating backaches and abdominal pain, so intense that she was taken for a CT scan.

He said the scan showed her lungs, gallbladder, liver, intestines and kidneys were severely affected, a sign that she had sepsis – a life-threatening infection that affects the immune system and could lead to death.

She was taken to a private hospital where further tests were done, but referred to the SFGH for urgent admission to its intensive care unit.

Maicoo was later moved to the high dependency unit and subsequently a medical ward. On February 13, she went into a coma.

Rawle said she is coming along very slowly and expressed appreciation to those who have supported the family,

Maicoo, a retired schoolteacher of Union Presbyterian Primary School, is best known for her Christmas hits Trini Christmas is the Best, Where Daisy Gone and Dance, Dance, Dance.

Rawle said while she loved recording, she never fancied performing.

The couple lives at Fyzabad and have four children and three grandchildren.