– The Mekyla Belgrave story

Mekyla Belgrave had both of her eyes removed after she was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a cancer of the eyes when she was just a baby. Alva Solomon caught up with her at one of her recent Saturday swims at Colgrain House in Georgetown and reports that Mekyla passed the National Grade Six Assessment and is ready for the her new life as a secondary school student

She sang the chorus of her song “I can,” by Mekyla Belgrave.
“I can hop, I can skip, I can jump and also run”
“I can could wash, I could cook, I can weed I can also read”
“Just put me to the test and I will do my best “
“I am able and capable to do the things that I want to do”
Young Mekyla is articulate, brave, she mingles well with her friends and this September she will be embarking on another educational journey. On this occasion, according to her, she is prepared to take on the challenges which lie ahead.
This is despite her visual impairment, which is one of several reasons she plans to excel in the years ahead. Mekyla, who is a student of the St Agnes Primary School on Church Street in the city, obtained 459 marks at this year’s National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) examination. A creditable performance, given her condition, the 11-year old appears excited and anxious for the new school term to commence.
During an interview at near the swimming pool at Colgrain House on Camp Street, the young lady’s mother, Celeste Belgrave , informed that when Mekyla was five months old , she observed a “glossiness” in her eyes. She said she visited several doctors but no one could say what the problem was.
Eventually, she visited Dr George Norton, the current Public Health Minister, who performed a scan of Mekyla’s eyes. Her parents fears were confirmed when Dr Norton advised that there was a cancerous tumor affecting Mekyla’s eye sight. Her parents then sought treatment overseas based on his advice.
In 2005, when the she was 10 months old, medical practitioners at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex at Mount Hope in Trinidad and Tobago diagnosed her with bilateral advanced retinoblastoma, a cancer of the eyes.
“The cancer was already advanced in her eyes, one was 90% and the other was 60%,” her mother informed. After discussions with her parents, a decision was taken by the Trinidadian medical practitioners to enucleate or remove her right eye. According to the medical report, a similar procedure was taken on her left eye and according to the doctors, both surgical procedures healed well at the time. The condition never affected her cerebral functions, that is, the functions of her brain.
The doctors also recommended that frequent MRI scans be performed on Mekyla until she was 5 years-old and according to her mother, the advice was followed with six courses of chemotherapy.
Celeste said that she believed her daughter was in pain but since she was a child at the time, this was a task to bear-up with.
Recounting her daughter’s childhood, Celeste noted that Mekyla started to walk prior to the diagnosis and after she lost her eyes, she stopped walking for several months. She noted however, that Mekyla , who is the eldest of two siblings , grew up as a normal child. To travel around , her father would ferry her from their East Ruimveldt home.
At nursery school, Mekyla was able to function well, including making mischief like any other child, “because she took the paper for my cupcake and beads and paste them up.”
A talented young lady, at four-years old, Mekyla was well versed in Martin Carter’s “Looking at your hands”, a poem she recited from start to finish.
In 2014, during the Mashramani celebrations, the aspiring teacher and another student performed the song “I can”, which was written by a visually impaired teacher at the Unit for the Blind. She was the lead singer while her colleague provided back-up.
Last year, Mekyla upped her preparations for this year’s grade six exams. According to her mother, her class teacher would send her books with her notes. “I would read to her and I would ask her questions. In addition, she has a recorder which she would listen to”, her mother noted.
On the day of the exam, she said her daughter utilized the services of a scribe. “She is a good little sponge,” her mother chuckled. Having obtained a place at a city secondary school, her mother noted that she will be seeking a transfer from the Ministry of Education for a school which is closer to her place of employment. She said Mekyla usually seeks assistance while walking around to get to the washroom and to the canteen, as has been the case at St Agnes Primary on Church Street.
Mekyla is gifted at using the computer, and she operates the device using the software, JAWS ( Job Access With Speech) which was is utilized globally by the visually impaired. It is said to be the world’s most popular screen reader, developed for computer users whose vision loss prevents them from seeing screen content or navigating with a mouse. JAWS provide speech and Braille output for the most popular computer applications on your PC.
Recently, the Three Rivers Foundation donated a laptop computer for her to use and according to her mother, the device will aid her well in future.
As the interview continued at Colgrain, Mekyla came across and sang her song. She sat, composed herself after a few seconds and she sang lustily as those nearby grew emotional as she belted her lyrics.
“I would like to be a teacher, to teach special needs children; it is fun actually”, Mekyla said. As regards secondary school, she said she is nervous but optimistic. “I’m a little nervous, because it’s a different environment, different children, different people, different teachers but I’m looking forward to September,” she said.
Minutes later, she sat with a broad smile, on the sides of the pool as her picture was taken. “She comes here every Saturday to swim,” her mother said, as Mekyla relaxingly played with others nearby.