St Marin’s in St Philip is a mess and people are fed up with the road conditions there, which have forced many of them to seek medical attention.
Yesterday there was stark contrast in conditions along the marl-filled rocky road as a part of it was dry, with dust thick in the air every time a large vehicle passed, while another area was soppy with water, making traversing it a slushy mess which stuck to shoes and clothes.
Jeanette Chase is one of the people suffering badly. She claimed she almost died due to complications from constantly breathing in dust.
“In December I was in the hospital for four weeks with a collapsed lung and heart problems and it is still affecting me now. It causes me to vomit sometimes and I can’t even sleep at night,” she said.
Chase said she no longer allowed her grandchildren to stay with her as there was too much dust and recounted the story of one of her youngest grandchildren needing a respirator once to survive.
“I want them to try and fix this road because the doctor told me that if the road isn’t fixed, my lungs won’t get better,” she said.
In addition, she said the dust had ruined her home theatre system and caused the family to have to constantly clean.
Husband Peterson Chase said, that while he did not suffer with medical conditions, the effects on his wife were taking a toll.
“I does got to run to the doctor with her and can’t go to work. The dust had her in the hospital and afterwards she couldn’t even move,” he said, adding the dust got into his nose and throat.
Another resident, Ione Eastman, also has a range of medications she takes to combat the effects of prolonged dust inhalation. She too said she had been told by doctors that she would not recover unless the environment had improved.
“I have sinusitis now and I never used to before; I hope it doesn’t turn into asthma. I’ve been here for more than 20 years and it has never been this bad before. The doctors even told me to change address because [the sinusitis] won’t go away until the road fix,” she said.
Eastman also complained of the constant cleaning, saying if they wiped something off in the morning, it would be covered in dust by evening, adding they covered their furniture with sheets.
Lisa Taylor said her whole family now had sinusitis and she had to pay $200 in medical bills. She said the constant patchwork was a waste of money.
“Every minute they will just keep putting on marl? The rain will keep eating it out; it is a waste of money. They used to wet out here too but they stopped since November,” she said, adding her two young children could not go outside to play.
Marva Cadogan had her tales of woe to tell as well as she said the dust was affecting the health of her infant grandson Leshon, who she said has an eye condition.
“Every minute we got to be holding we nose from the dust but when the rain falls, that is a problem too, you can’t even walk out here. Government needs to do something, if they know they couldn’t finish this, then they shouldn’t have started it,” she said.
David McQueen, however, had a slightly different take. While he said it was unfortunate it was taking so long for the road to be paved, he said it was also the price of progress.
“It’s a shame . . . . All it needed was [asphalt] but they allowed it to get to this state but what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” he said.
The road problems also had an effect on businesses in the area, with some businesses closing or downsizing.