A tearful Denis Lowe last night said it was a miracle he had recovered from ill health that pushed him close to death last December, with his heart functioning at a mere 18 per cent of its capacity.
“I believe that I am standing here today exclusively because of the mercies and grace of the Almighty God,” he told more than 300 people attending a “healing and thanksgiving service” held for him at St Christopher Primary School, Christ Church, yesterday.
In a speech punctuated by tears and a few laughs, the Cabinet minister admitted that he had been ill from September, but avoided seeking medical attention until his health had deteriorated to the point where he was vomiting blood.
The Minister of the Environment was rushed to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) towards the end of December.
Among the complications were “repeated influenza”, a “massive chest infection” and a “floating blood clot” that had caused both lungs to collapse, Lowe told the gathering that included relatives, constituents, Cabinet ministers and other Members of Parliament.
“I had heart failure as well,” he reported.
He said doctors at the QEH had initially given him only a 50-50 chance of survival, and that one told him afterwards it was “not the doctors or the medicine; it is God” who had performed a miracle.
However, he said doctors and nurses had gone beyond the call of duty in caring for him, with one doctor staying at his bedside 27 consecutive hours.
He told Barbadians not to criticize the QEH without having an experience there, because the institution “has some of the most wonderful doctors and nurses”.
His second message to Barbadians was “get your health checked” before the warning signs of sickness appear. (TY)