Generous support pours in for Adrianna
Burn victim awaits more surgeries in Boston
Published:Thursday | January 9, 2025 | 12:07 AMAshley Anguin/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Following his urgent plea for help a few days ago, Adrian Laing, now in the United States with his daughter, 15-year-old burn victim Adrianna Laing, undergoing corrective surgeries at Boston’s Shriners Children’s Hospital, says he is overwhelmed by the response, especially from the Jamaican Diaspora.
“I want to thank everyone who has been reaching out and sending assistance. Thank you so much for the food, especially the Jamaican food because that is what my daughter loves,” the appreciative father told The Gleaner.
“She got her curry chicken and rice with juice. A restaurant came on board, and trust me, it has been overwhelming support from persons all over since the article went out.”
In a Gleaner article published on Monday, Laing made a desperate plea for help, saying he and his daughter were facing extremely difficult times providing for their immediate needs on their own.
“Right now, we are happy; we are getting some food where we live, so we don’t have to venture out in the cold just to eat,” said the relieved father.
After receiving a new prosthetic leg this week, Adrianna expressed gratitude for the support.
“I feel good for the help, and I want to thank them. It is hard to walk in the cold from where we live to the hospital. How I feel now is good in my mind and body. I am now waiting to do my surgery,” she said.
Responding to negative comments on social media by those disbelieving their situation, Laing remains focused on his daughter’s well-being.
“People would feel say a money me a look, but food is our biggest problem. Adrianna does not live on the hospital compound. She has not done her surgery yet, so she cannot live there,” he said.
“People think so, but we only stayed one night at Shriners when we arrived in December. We live together, so there are two mouths I have to feed. We have to walk in the snow to get something to eat.”
“She even caught the flu because rain wet her up the other day when going to the hospital. She has a prosthetic leg, so she can’t manage the walking, but I cannot do better,” added Laing.
NOT EASY
“Before I left Jamaica, everywhere I checked for rent, the money was too much, or they didn’t have what we needed. I am in a foreign country with no help, so I couldn’t just take the money that Robert White from Sanmerna Paper Products Limited gave me and fly go rent place and be hungry after that,” he explained. “We had one week to stay at a place the hospital put us, so I can sort out the living situation. The stove is disconnected, and it has a sticker that says, ‘do not use’. Thankfully, they gave us until January 30 to move out. I have to get a place close by. The train doesn’t run near the hospital, so it is a taxi or Uber we would have to take, and that is not cheap,” he added.
The Gleaner has seen documents from Shriners Hospital for Children indicating that they are not financially responsible for housing, food, or transportation expenses incurred in the United States by Adrianna and her father.
Adrianna suffered horrific burns in a September 4, 2022, house fire at her former home in Springfield, Westmoreland. Her seven-year-old twin brothers, Jayden and Jorden Laing, perished in the fire.
Adrianna, now on her fourth trip to the United States and having undergone 28 surgeries, is awaiting surgery for contracture of her right elbow and wrist.