One of this country's own is in urgent need of support.
Para table tennis player Dennis La Rose recently underwent surgery to have a toe removed and while he's been medically discharged, he remains at the Port of Spain General Hospital, unable to walk.
An emotional La Rose spoke with TV6 by phone from Ward 17, sharing the difficult reality he's now facing.
00:00Things keep getting more and more difficult for Trinidad and Tobago para table tennis player Dennis Larose.
00:05Larose was inflicted with polio as a child and used his support when walking from place to place.
00:11Added to that, he sits in a wheelchair to play the sport.
00:14However, after being told by a doctor that he had gangrene,
00:18Larose had surgery done in June to remove his left toe at the Port of Spain General Hospital.
00:22But Larose says there were complications that followed after the operation.
00:27My skeleton had become extremely swollen.
00:31It took it nine days to go down.
00:34It took it nine days to go down.
00:37The operation was to remove a toe and to do a bypass surgery from the groin to the ankle
00:46to ensure we get blood to flow into the leg and see if we could save the leg.
00:53As a result, Larose is unable to walk and is still at the hospital despite being discharged a few weeks ago.
01:00The place where he stays in Maraval has many steps and it's not possible for him to enter his premises because of his condition.
01:07What I really asked the Ministry of Social Welfare to do is to try to find me some self-accommodation for at least a month or three.
01:20And to get me a caretaker so that I could get the medical treatment I need so I could be able to recover.
01:28According to Larose, someone from the Ministry of Social Welfare visited him at the hospital weeks ago.
01:34The 64-year-old who spent his birthday at the hospital has been advised to visit the Ministry's offices in Port of Spain.
01:42I have to first come out of the hospital, go down to social welfare, follow form and wait for six months.
01:52And after six months, they will call me and they will try to assist me with $400.
01:58He says it's impossible that $400 a month could help him based on his situation.
02:03Larose says he has given it his all for the country as a player and a coach for nearly three decades, which includes producing some top players.
02:11He also played for the Twin Island nation in several tournaments abroad.
02:15As such, Larose is seeking assistance from anyone willing to help him.
02:19I have served this country wholeheartedly for 28 years. Come forward and try to assist me somehow so that I can have some sort of decency to live for a little couple of months or so and try to recover.
02:38Members from his club, Karanaj Blasters, give him some assistance just to keep him going.
02:43Those willing to assist Larose can do so by visiting any of the Royal Bank branches to deposit money into his account.
02:50His account number is 11 followed by 70757875.
Be the first to comment