THE BROAD SMILE on Tara Alleyne’s face would have illuminated the darkest room. It told of success – she was again walking without a limp.
Just two days after an ill-fitting steel rod was removed from her right femur and a titanium one inserted in a near three-and-a-half-hour operation, Tara was slowly but steadfastly walking, albeit with crutches, under the guidance of physiotherapist Jacqui King. And the only pain she said she felt were the stitches in her right hip and thigh.
“I don’t feel any sticking pain in my hip when I put weight on my foot like before,” said Tara with a broad smile.
She was referring to the other two surgeries she had – one on April 11, 2013, to implant a rod to rectify her broken right femur (thigh), and the other on October 21, that same year, to remove a screw to accelerate healing of the bone – but that did not occur.
Instead, the hip was often swollen, was extremely painful, and her limp became more pronounced. Consultation with a new surgeon led to her being ordered to place as little pressure as possible on her foot, which included walking.
Though it’s early days yet, the accident victim feels her third surgery last Monday may be the one from which she will heal properly and be able to walk independently again in six months.
If that does happen it would end a fateful journey that began on March 17, 2013, when she was a passenger in an uninsured vehicle that crashed on President Kennedy Drive, St Michael, killing a teenaged university student and injuring her two friends.
Tara did not know the driver because it was her friend who had asked him for a ride. He was subsequently charged with causing the death of the teen. Because the vehicle was uninsured, the unemployed single mum had to depend on the generosity of the public and benefits from the Welfare Department to survive these last two years.
“I’m just praying that everything goes right this time so I can get back to work and be able to support myself and my son. I’m really praying for the best,” she said.
