A man of many talents

By Wendella Davidson

DR Kurt Stephenson, a General Medical Practitioner (GMO) attached to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre (DDC) since November 2017, has been credited by his patients as being among the best for the care and treatment of burns.

But this Cuba-trained doctor is also multi-talented, and with a pair of gifted hands, he has created a niche for himself as a costume designer, a pastry maker, cake decorator, a cook and florist.

At a very young age, he started helping his mother and neighbours in the kitchen and by age 13, the young man was decorating cakes and making pastries at 14 years old; perfecting himself at making floral arrangements the following year, and by age 19 he was designing costumes.

Speaking with the Pepperpot Magazine recently, Dr Stephenson recalled that at a very young age, he had his heart set on becoming a medical doctor, and longed to be qualified and to practise medicine. But, according to him, his climb to achieve his goal was not an easy task.
He spoke of making subjects such as Biology, Chemistry, Physiology and Mathematics look like a walk in the park, while those same subjects presented a real challenge to other people.
He found a stumbling block, however, with reading and his mother was advised by a friend to make sure that he placed more emphasis on reading, and emphasised that it should be any reading material that comes his way.
Moreover, he was allowed to choose his own reading material, so he chose cookbooks.

Cooking up a storm
According to the doctor, cooking was a natural love for him because of all the entertaining that was going on around him. He remembered when he was about five years old, as he was hanging around the kitchen one day, his father asking what he wanted to become when he grew older. But before he could have given an answer, his father quipped “Dr for the Pot.”

For Dr Stephenson, he had his own cooking chores around the house, “I had a bread day. My day was Wednesday, my mother used to have me bake buns, tennis rolls, and salara, all from scratch, and she made you cook too,” he said. He remembers vividly when he was 11 years old, the Wilson brothers who were his neighbours, had acquired a television. Also, an aunt of the brothers who lived overseas and had always emphasised the importance of reading and learning, gifted her nephews a library. Among the lot of books were texts on cookery, nutrition and vegetarianism. “I used to be engrossed in those books and that’s how my love for reading and my culinary skills developed,” he said.

The doctor recalled beaming with pride when neighbours would call on him to help them coo.

From time to time, he said he would observe his mother or the neighbours bake and decorate cakes with icing, but that on one of the occasions when a neighbour was catering for a wedding and he had the opportunity to see the two-tiered bridal cake done from beginning to end, his interest in the culinary field piqued further. “I immediately began to read more books on the preparation of cakes, drinks, cakes and food. From then, I [was] always trying my hand at anything new and interesting,” he said.

Medicine
Dr Stephenson remembered, too, that as a CXC student he focused on the science stream , because he wanted a career in medicine. “It was a tight competition, and for me, being a former student of Central High, I had to compete with the cream of the crop; students who attended Queen’s, Saint’s and Bishops’. But I was not discouraged; I subsequently went off to the university where I Studied Chemical Pathology Microbiology. I graduated and that was what I considered as my edge over that cream of the crop. I was there neck and neck with them,” he said.

At the age 20, Dr Stephenson departed these shores for Cuba to further his studies in medicine; there, he said lecturers and peers viewed him as a genius with an exceptionally high IQ.
“My days in Cuba were numbered. I slept for four hours a day, they [the lecturers] all found ‘way out’ things for me to do. I guess they were studying me and hoping they could break me… it is a phase I was forced to go through, as I was forced to study,” he recounted.
With a touch of pride, he spoke of cherished memories while he was studying in Cuba: the celebration of Guyana Day, Independence Day and Mashramani. The young doctor said he used to focus more on Mashramani, which he viewed as a true expression of celebration after a whole year of hard work.
And, as the main caterer, he remembered preparing various Amerindian, African, Indian, Portuguese, Chinese and European dishes that represented the Guyanese cuisine – “I used to cook my heart out to showcase Guyana and the foods we have at home and the foreign students and visitors loved the food,” he added.
For this, Dr Stephenson expressed his appreciation and gratitude to his parents and neighbours for sharing with him almost all of the techniques he now possesses in the preparation of meals.

Other talents

Touching on his other extra-curricular activities, the medical practitioner said the designing of costumes was just a natural gift. He recalled that at the time he started dabbling with designing, the thinking and culture of then President L.F.S. Burnham, was to make sure that citizens appreciate patriotism as well as their cultural identity, as Guyanese do not know or seem to appreciate their cultural identity until they happen to leave your country.
“Be it whether you are Black, Indian, Amerindian, whoever, when you leave the country you are just a Guyanese. And so, you had to identify as a Guyanese, also during the era, the focus was to educate Guyanese along that phase where you had to learn something creative,” he added.
He became involved with designing costumes at Enterprise Primary School and it was from then on that a spark was ignited.
“ I went off to the university and found that there was an experimental cross-faculty programme where they wanted arts and science to blend, as the administration realised that the students who were studying science, at the time, had no interest in art; but their interest grew with the cross-faculty art experiment. There was more appreciation and within the Indian culture group, they would do the Rangoli design, as it was an artistic expression. The cross-faculty did work… there was no one person with a skill, at the same time the focus was on the development of the arts, “ he added.

He recollected also, another interesting move to promote the `Black Arts’, or `Black Persons In Art.’ “It was at the same time when National Service was being phased out, and university students were asked to undertake voluntary work at various schools. Dr Stephenson said he jumped at the opportunity to volunteer at Dolphin’s Secondary School, which was then going through a transition period under the Secondary Schools Reform Programme (SSRP).

“ It was me, as a young man who introduced the design of the badge and tie for Dolphin Secondary and the school also changed the colour of the uniform to the blue they now wear, “ he said, adding,
“At that time, too, I was doing integrated science and cultural arts; they were trying to push it into the school system, as well as the steel band and costumes were my thing. That was the year that Dolphin Secondary won first place at the Children’s Costume Competition with a costume themed `Black Widow’ and again with ` Mr & Mrs Universe’ and the ` She Devil,’ but when the last year a costume depicting the dolphins and the school copped the first place again, but because Fernleaf stopped its sponsorship of such events I lost interest,” Dr Stephenson said.
He likened that period as “my best time, I was just having fun doing what I loved.”, as according to him he was not connected to anyone.

It was after graduation that Dr Stephenson said he was awarded a scholarship and proceeded to Cuba to study. Upon completion, on his return, he was sent to work at the Linden Hospital Complex.
He also recalled doing voluntary work at the National Communications Network (NCN), during the morning show as an intern doctor.
Dr Stephenson’s crowning moment with costumes though, was when he designed the National Costume for Miss Guyana Universe 2012, Ruqayyah Boyer.
Boyer’s national costume had created quite a stir here in Guyana as it depicted a beautiful mixture of our patriotic colours and a diversity of fauna. The arrangement showcased the colours of the flag with birds of the rainforest and with butterflies.The shoulders were aviaries and Boyer’s shoes were decorated with butterflies as well.

Dr Stephenson considers himself as a medical practitioner who can function in any department. “I am not limited to specialty; I am experienced in all the areas, but was trained in wound care and diabetic foot care mostly, and minor in several areas including massage and psychiatric art therapy. I love to study my patients and how they heal, to determine if their ailment has to do with their blood type or the foods they consume. However, because of the Guyanese culture, there is no possibility of studying a patient, as almost everything is looked at, or perceived in a negative way,” he related.