PERSEVERANCE and suffering are two words that often seem as though they do not belong in the same sentence. However, for 20-year-old medical student Jasiel Williams, those experiences have taught her valuable lessons about character, resilience and hope.
In the second week of February 2025, what started as pain in her leg would eventually turn out to be much more serious.
Jasiel, a student of the Rajiv Gandhi University of Science and Technology at Cummings Lodge, East Coast Demerara, had just entered a three-year medical programme when the pain in her leg worsened, causing her to limp. Her legs gradually became weaker until she eventually lost the ability to walk.
A visit to the hospital followed, where she was diagnosed with lupus nephritis, a condition in which lupus causes inflammation and damage to the kidneys. Jasiel explained that while joint and tendon pain are common among lupus patients, losing the ability to walk is not a typical symptom.
Armed with faith and prayer, Jasiel and her mother returned to the hospital in March 2025 as her condition continued to deteriorate. Facing several complications, she was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), where she spent three weeks before being transferred to the High Dependency Unit (HDU) for an additional week.
Although she was eventually discharged and allowed to return home, she remained unable to walk.

At that point, the young and promising student had lost her independence and relied entirely on her mother, who had to miss work to care for her daily.
“I was like a log, like an invalid, I would say, completely without independence anymore. So that went on for some time, and I had a relapse because when I came from the hospital, I could have at least used my hands a bit to eat a little, but when I came home, I had a relapse and the entire body shut down,” she recalled.
Alongside the physical challenges, Jasiel developed slurred speech and was unable to communicate clearly. The muscles in her face were not functioning properly, her eyes appeared glassy, and the only parts of her body she could move were her head and eyes.
She also developed deep vein thrombosis (DVT), a condition in which a blood clot forms in a deep vein, usually in the leg.
Describing the experience as extremely painful, Jasiel said she was bedridden for an extended period.
“One day it got very overbearing and we had to go back to the hospital, and I had to go into the emergency ward, where they did an ultrasound and saw that it was a blood clot in the leg. So, I had to be readmitted to the hospital again, and that was around late April,” she said.
Following her readmission, Jasiel received therapy at the Rehabilitation Centre located at the Palms Geriatric Home before attending follow-up clinics at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).
According to Jasiel, she also underwent chemotherapy treatment, as some medications commonly used in chemotherapy are also effective in treating autoimmune diseases such as lupus.
Every two weeks, she travelled from Land of Canaan, East Bank Demerara, to the oncology clinic at GPHC for treatment.
Throughout her recovery, her mother and cousin played a critical role in assisting with exercises and rehabilitation.
She was later referred to the Ptolemy Reid Rehabilitation Centre in Georgetown, where she received physiotherapy and occupational therapy.
Today, Jasiel continues to make steady progress and says she gives all praise to God for her recovery. She also credits the therapists and healthcare professionals who helped her throughout the journey.
She is now able to walk again, despite continuing to experience what she described as “drop foot.”
“I’ve learned perseverance and suffering produce so many things in you: character, hope and different things, and I had no doubt at one point that I was going to get healed,” she said.
“I know this was a phase that I had to go through because of what is going to happen in the future for me.”
Reflecting on the experience, Jasiel said perseverance and endurance are lessons that will remain with her for the rest of her life.
She believes that no matter how difficult a situation may seem, faith and hope can help individuals overcome tremendous obstacles.
“I believe there’s always something working behind the scenes; God specifically, even when you don’t see. So even when I wasn’t seeing anything, I knew He was working internally,” Jasiel said.