A ray of Sunshine

Oshane Briscoe completely freaked out on Wednesday morning when his friend alerted him to a newborn baby in a brown shopping bag hanging from a fence near his home in Vineyard Town, Kingston.

Heart racing, he went to investigate and found a baby girl naked in the bloody bag with her umbilical cord still attached, surrounded by pieces of afterbirth, her body swarming with ants and covered in bite marks.

Making the heartbreaking discovery some time after 6 a.m., the 33-year-old contractor and father of two said he and his female friend, who wished to remain in anonymous, rushed the newborn to the hospital, hoping beyond hope that she would live.

“Mi did so shock,” Briscoe declared, still very emotional on Thursday when The Sunday Gleaner accompanied him to the spot where the baby was found.

Recounting the discovery which he now describes as a miracle and a blessing, Briscoe said it was his friend’s curiosity that led to the discovery of the baby whom he has since affectionately nicknamed ‘Sunshine’.

While returning home from a nearby shop, the woman spotted the bag.

“I guess she is a lover of animals, as she saw the bag moving and she a say ‘a wa kind a puppy or cat in a the bag’,” he recalled.

Hearing a whimpering sound, she looked inside the brown shopping bag.

Briscoe, who was a short distance away heading out to work, said while he did not see the bag at first, he would not have stopped to check, based on the bag’s bloody appearance.

Both persons said they never imagined that it would have been a baby inside and were blown away by the discovery.

“When she alert me, mi drop everything, man. All one a dem yah drop, man,” he said referring to his cell phone.

“Mi shock, mi nuh know wa fi do, mi confuse, tun idiot. Den she start cry say ‘help me nuh!’. Den now the situation just get worse. She a say ‘help mi nuh’ and mi say ‘wey me fi do, how the number go fi call 119 or 911’, mi nuh know, but mi try.”

He continued, “Mi even did really afraid to wen me friend keep on a say she don’t want the baby die, and mi a say me don’t want the baby die either.”

Ants bites on her body

Briscoe said they both inspected the baby and saw that she was alive and appeared OK except for ants bite marks on her body.

The good Samaritan said after he quickly regained some amount of composure, he called his cousin who lent him a vehicle and he and his friend took the baby to the Victoria Jubilee Hospital in Kingston.

But on their arrival, he said, they were informed that the hospital could not treat the baby and instructed them to take the child to the Bustamante Hospital for Children.

However, he said before they left, health workers took the baby and cleaned her off.

Briscoe said he was upset that they turned them away.

“When I was coming from Jubilee I was really upset. I told them if this baby die I would be so cold-hearted against human beings because what is life to see that we come down here with the baby and nobody couldn’t really help we,” he told The Sunday Gleaner.

However, he said everything has since worked out, as the baby is currently receiving care at Bustamante Hospital for Children and he understands now that it was part of the protocol.

No leads so far

Senior medical officer at the island’s sole children’s hospital, Dr Michelle-Ann Richards Dawson, told The Sunday Gleaner that said she was not at liberty to divulge any information about the baby, as the matter was now under investigation. She, however, shared that the baby was a day old when she was found and that she was in a stable condition.

An investigator at the Vineyard Town Police Station told The Sunday Gleaner that, up to press time, they had no leads so far on the child’s mother or any relatives, but investigations are ongoing.

In the meantime, Briscoe said the terrifying discovery has left his friend traumatised.

The incident has also shocked persons in the Vineyard Town community who heard about it.

Among them are the couple on whose fence the baby was found.

“I couldn’t believe something like this happened. Is the police notified me about it in the afternoon,” the wife told The Sunday Gleaner. “It leaves me feeling depressed.”

‘Sunshine fada’

Since finding ‘Sunshine’, Briscoe has made daily visits to the hospital, although he was told that he will not be able to see her.

“Me waa fi show say mi concern,” he said. “Mi glad say she is alive that’s why mi a keep checking up on her; she affi know us.”

Briscoe, who kept commenting on how beautiful and quiet the baby appeared, grinned from ear to ear while noting that he is now easily recognised by the staff at the hospital and is being called “Sunshine Fada”.

The young man, who on his second visit had brought a box of diapers which was not accepted, remains undaunted and has already mobilised friends, relatives and well-wishers, including persons overseas, who are desirous of assisting the baby girl.

According to him, if given the opportunity he would readily adopt baby ‘Sunshine’ although his sister, who is overseas, is also interested.

“I don’t get any daughter so I am saying maybe is God send her to me, cause me friend who find her say she has three daughters so if it was a boy maybe she woulda keep him,” he said.

“As much as I got my two responsibilities, God will provide and I believe it’s a miracle that we find her.”

“That’s why I say I want to adopt her. Maybe she is my goldmine, my blessing,” he said, noting that he envisions a bright future for the child.

At the same time, Briscoe said even if he does not get the opportunity to adopt the baby, he plans to be a constant support and presence in her life.

“Mi waa fi do the best wey mi can do fi har. Mi wouldn’t even mek she know the situation until she is a grown lady,” he said, while brushing off thoughts of what may have happened if he and his friend hadn’t rescued her.

Sad situation

“It’s really sad because no matter what pressure you are going through, it nuh permanent,” Briscoe said of the manner in which the baby was left.

Briscoe said while he doesn’t know the situation that would have led to the mother abandoning the baby, or even if she was suffering from post-traumatic stress, he hopes she would reach out or notify the baby’s father.

“A child needs their parents, their guidance; if not, at least they can see their parents, because you have people out deh a live wey never see dem mother yet or fada and dat caa be good. And more time a no money, cause nuff fathers out there willing but dem get bash so dem feel say without the resources they not welcome,” he reasoned.

He shared that he had felt like that at one point but realised that his children needed him, regardless of whether he had money. As a result, Briscoe said, even though one of his sons is currently living overseas, he ensures that they speak frequently and he assists him as much as he can.

Briscoe, in the meantime, is encouraging women to do what is necessary to ensure that they don’t find themselves in a position where they have to resort to abandoning their children.

“If dem nuh ready fi a child, just be cautious, no bada get too fall in a de feelings and get pregnant because responsibility deh out deh fi everybody. Everybody wey yuh see a move up and down, driving, walking, riding, we all fighting for life, yuh understand, so just minimise the pressure,” he said.

tanesha.mundle@gleanerjm.com