‘Why did my parents have to die?’

The future looks very dim for Marva Forrest, who is seriously ill and who has the task of caring for her seven-year-old grandson, who is an orphan.

It breaks her heart and reduces her to tears whenever he asks, “Grandma, why did my parents have to die, and how can I live without them?”

“I do not have the answer for him, and so I am hoping that he will get professional help urgently,” Forrest, who can barely move about, told The Sunday Gleaner last week.

“I am concerned about my sickness. Because of brittle bones, my movement is limited, but I fret daily for my grandson because I am not able to help him the way I really want to help him.”

She related that sometimes her grandson, whose pet name is Abraham, sits and stares into space and she can see the sadness in his eyes.

Forrest explained that his mother took ill and died in 2017, and his father, who was her son, died from a brain haemorrhage on June 26, 2019, leaving Abraham in her care.

“Because of my illness, I cannot work, and so I have to depend on relatives for financial assistance for me and Abraham, and I will tell you I am going through a very rough time because they are struggling to help us,” said the distressed grandmother.

“Sometimes people suggest that I should put Abraham in state care, but the very thought pains my heart.”

Abraham is doing very well in primary school, but Forrest says it is obvious that he needs counselling to fully understand about his parents’ death and to curb some behavioural problems he has, but she does not have the money to do so.

Sometimes when Abraham sees other children going out with their parents, he goes into his bed, covers up himself and pretends to be sleeping, Forrest said.

“I just don’t want my grandson to become depressed over the death of his parents, and that is why I am appealing for help for him,” the very concerned grandmother said.

Forrest, 59, has been living in Riverton City, an inner-city community in St Andrew, for the last 21 years. She disclosed that termites destroyed her board house and she could not get help to repair it or build another one, so she and her grandson had to move in with her daughter, who lives in the same community.

“I have been a hard worker all my life, and it is only because of ill health why I am in this situation. Up to a few years ago, I was selling in the market to support myself, my grandson, and some of my relatives,” she explained.

Forest, who is a Seventh-day Adventist, said it is her strong faith in God that keeps her going at times when she feels like giving up.

“If I had a wheelchair, I could move around a bit and even go to church, but right now, I cannot afford to buy one, so I have to just lie in my bed all the time and pray that God will heal me so I can take care of myself and my grandson,” she said.

WANTS TO BE A DOCTOR

Abraham, who loves to read and sing, told The Sunday Gleaner that he is hoping for a very bright future, but he is worried about his grandmother.

“Right now I would like to see my grandma get better. I am going to study very hard so I can become a doctor to take care of sick people,” said the young boy.

“When I tell people that I am going to be a doctor, some of them laugh at me, but that is what I want to be,” a very confident Abraham declared.

Anyone who is willing to help Forrest and her grandson can contact her at 876-852-8426.

editorial@gleanerjm.com