By Vishani Ragobeer

DANIEL Phillips, a young boy who was visually impaired when he wrote the 2020 National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA), has done himself and his family proud and is hoping to be a preacher one day, to help others.

Daniel was a student of the Mae’s Annex School and earned 439 marks, which secured him a spot at the Charlestown Secondary School. What is quite noteworthy, however, is that Daniel was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in June, which subsequently rendered him temporarily visually impaired, just one month before he was scheduled to sit the NGSA on July 1 and 2.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), multiple sclerosis is a common neurological condition that can affect the brain and spinal cord. The United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS) stated that this condition can cause a wide range of potential symptoms, including issues with vision, movement of the arms and legs, sensation, and/or balance.

The young boy has been receiving treatment at the St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, under the care of esteemed Guyanese neurosurgeon, Dr. Amarnauth Dukhi.

“We never knew he had this disease though; when he was in Grade Three, he could spell 25 words right tonight and in the morning when he go to school and the teacher asks he, he would get zero right,” Daniel’s mother Aerlene Alberts said.

In the weeks leading up to the NGSA, Daniel was advised by his doctor against attending classes and sitting the examinations. This was because the use of electronics for online schooling would have adversely affected him.

On July 1, the first day of the NGSA, his mother recounted that she received a call from no less than the headteacher of Mae’s School, who encouraged her to bring her son to write the examinations. The headteacher informed Aerlene that the Ministry of Education had sent specially formatted papers to assist him in writing those examinations.

I HAVE FAITH

Though he was not entirely prepared to sit the examinations that day, the proud mother related that Daniel told her: “Mom, I can do it. I have faith that I can do it.” And so, without any time to even iron his uniform, Daniel and Aerlene rushed to the Middleton Street School so that the young lad would be able to write his examinations alongside his colleagues.

“He was blind completely when he was writing the exam, so they (the invigilators) helped him to write the exams,” Aerlene said.

The young boy noted that he experienced headaches during the NGSA; that, coupled with his inability to see the test papers, constrained him significantly.

“He was hoping to get 500 marks and get a really good school, but he said, ‘Mom, I tried my best’ and that was enough for me,” Aerlene related, gushing with pride.

Though Daniel did not do as well as he wanted to, he is not daunted. He hopes that one day he can become a preacher so that he can deliver the word of God to help others; just as he believes the Lord has helped him. He is a baptised Christian who believes that God could heal him completely.

Nowadays, while his sight has returned almost entirely, Daniel suffers from intermittent headaches. His mother also shared her observation that her son sometimes experiences temporary memory loss.

Previously, the young boy attended the Port Kaituma Nursery School, in Region One. Alberts, however, highlighted that she wanted Daniel and his sisters to have access to better educational opportunities, so she made the sacrifice to send them to “town” schools.

The boy’s mother said, “I have a little business, I does sell plastic in the interior and I does try to make ends reach for them.”

Since being diagnosed, each month Daniel has to visit the doctor for a check-up on his condition. He also has to diet to help with his treatment. His mother related that Dr. Dukhi informed the family that he may have to travel abroad for further treatment; this worries the mother just a bit, as she does not have the money to do so.