FIFTY-THREE-year-old Nedd Franklin Croft, of 47 Miles Mabura Road, south of Linden, on the watershed between the Demerara and Essequibo Rivers, was a healthy and physically active young man on March 28, 1991, the day his life was turned upside down.

It was a fine, sunny afternoon at around 17:00 hrs when he, having visited the home of a friend at Mabura, was chatting away whilst sitting on the railing on the verandah of the house when it collapsed. The house was high, and Mr. Croft fell twenty-five feet to the ground and lost consciousness.

He woke up in excruciating pain at the Linden Hospital, and discovered that he had become paralyzed from the neck down.
He spent seventeen months in hospital, where, through the diligence of the staffers, he was eventually able to regain his feet.

But his troubles were not over.
The accident had left his left foot without feeling from the knee down; so he was soon back in hospital. He spent another three months there, and despite all the care, it was determined that the foot had to be amputated under the knee. With these two major mishaps, the once active and proud young man has since become dependent on the goodwill of friends and relatives.

Telling his story last week, Mr. Croft said he had at first been angry and bitter about the blows fate had dealt him. He has, however, reconciled himself to his situation over the ensuing years. He has just one dream: to acquire his own home. At the moment, he lives under the unenclosed house of a caring niece, who provides for him the best she can. He said he is confident he can arrange for the construction of the walls and the flooring of a modest home, but would like assistance in the provision of materials for a roof. He says that whatever help he can get from a caring public, or caring members of the public, would be greatly appreciated.

Number 47 miles village is 47 miles south of Linden along the Wismar to Lethem Highway. Mr. Croft can be contacted via the cellphone of his nephew, Myrtland Simmonds, #671-5694.