Chess champ Walcott, 14, falls into coma
Tuesday, January 19 2016
The national chess community has been left reeling following the news that 2013 CARIFTA chess champion, Della-Marie Walcott, 14-years-old, is currently in a coma with minimal brain activity at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the St Clair Medical Centre.
Walcott, a form four student of St Joseph’s Convent, Port of Spain, has been diagnosed with stage one brain cancer.
Walcott’s bright academic and chess future was hit on December 17 last year when she found out she had a tumour in her brain.
The daughter of Dominic and Debra Walcott had surgery on December 22 to remove the tumour, according to her cousin Leyyah Bassanta who set-up an account on gofundme.com to aid the national player.
She revealed that Walcott developed complications after her surgery and another one was recommended to relieve pressure from her brain and drain any excess fluids.
Despite an initial positive prognosis, Walcott failed to recover as expected and her condition worsened.
“Della has since fallen into a coma with minimal brain activity.
She was supposed to spend three days in the ICU and because of the complications, she has been there since, 27 days,” her cousin revealed.
“Her medical expenses have been rapidly escalating and the doctors are not imagining recovery enough to be discharged in the near future,” she concluded.
A relief fund has been set up online at https://www.gofundme.com/hyjvc2rr.
So far, just over US $13,600 has been raised.
Sonja Johnson, 1st vice-president of the Trinidad and Tobago Chess Association (TT CA) and close friend of the family, said the local chess community has been rallying behind the Walcott family.
“I work very closely with her mom Debra, we do charity work and we were chatting about her having to do the surgery. Post the operation which seemed to have gone okay she developed complications and seemed to have gone into a coma. She can’t come out of ICU right now. We’re asking people to pray for her recovery,” she said.
Johnson, whose daughter Gabriella is in the same class with Walcott at St Joseph’s Convent and both represented this country in Norway last year and Turkey, said she has been in constant contact with the family and is doing all she can to help.
“The chess community has been very responsive with our fund-raisers,” she said.
Currently they are running a curry-que to help offset expenses at Hott Shoppe, Mucurapo, Road, Port of Spain, where beef, chicken or vegetarian rotis can be had for $40 each. For more information on tickets call Johnson at 681-1151 or TT CA secretary Sandy Razark at 681-4439.
Source: http://www.newsday.co.tt
The entire Caribbean chess community has this precious young lady in their prayers. She was also on the Trinidad and Tobago women’s Olympiad teams in 2012 and 2014. Please support the fund. Every little bit counts.