Nashauna Drummond, Staff Reporter
Correctional officer Hartford Kerr has not let his physical constraints get him down. - RUDOLPH BROWN/CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
HIS SMILE didn't waver during the almost two-hour-long ceremony. Why should it? Everyone loves him. Correctional officer Hartford Kerr was the centre of attention on May 11 at a presentation ceremony held in his honour at the Fort Augusta Correctional Centre, St. Catherine. The occasion was a presentation of over $600,000 to Kerr who lost his right arm and leg in a tragic accident in June 2005.
Correctional officers at Fort Agusta, put on a raffle raising over $354,000 and another $300,000 through an appeal made by Commissioner of Corrections, Major Richard Reese.
A 21ST CENTURY MIRACLE
At 12:30 on June 25, 2005, Kerr was riding along the Stony Hill Road in St. Andrew when he was involved in a head-on collision with a pick-up truck. He was thrown into a ditch. His right hand and leg were crushed from the impact. Passers-by who witnessed the accident attracted the attention of Dr. Kurdell Espinosa who was on her way from the airport.
Dr. Espinosa stabilised Kerr at the scene and contacted her colleagues and made arrangements for when he arrived at the University Hospital of the West Indies. Dr. Espinosa told Flair that Kerr should have been dead as he lost so much blood. His haemoglobin (blood) count was two. The average adult male male has a blood count of 16-18. A doctor for four years, Dr. Espinosa has worked in the emergency department at the University Hospital of the West Indies for two years. She said, Kerr's condition is one a doctor never wants to see. Though exposed to gun shots, and stabs, "his injuries were so horrendous to see someone lose a hand and leg like that," she said.
She said she realised that he was special after she saw him in the hospital one week after the accident trying to write with his left hand. By the second week he was trying to walk on his left leg. "Not one day have you seen sadness on his face. This man is God-driven and I thank him for being in my life as a doctor and a person, he has taught me so much," said Dr. Espinosa during the ceremony. A lonely tear rolled down Kerr's chin.
TRULY LOVED
Superintendent Clement Clunis of the Horizon Remand centre told Flair that Kerr is really loved by all with whom he comes in contact. "He was my friend and though we were friends he was very professional and knew where to draw the line. He centred his life around God." Superintendent Clunis also spoke of the support Kerr got from his colleagues; those who knew him prior to the accident and those who came to know him after, was not born out of sympathy. "It's not a pretence, he's really admired by a wide cross-section who respect, and not out of sympathy for his accident."
His colleagues agree that he is special. It's virtually impossible to find someone with something negative to say about him.
Kerr has impacted the lives of everyone with whom he's come in contact. The loss of his limbs have made him inspiration and testimony of God's healing.
LEARNING ALL OVER AGAIN
Kerr's entire life has changed since his accident. He has had five surgeries and has to travel to the hospital daily to have his wound cleaned and dressed.
He told Flair that through it all he was not afraid to die. When he woke an amputee in the hospital, his first thoughts were of survival. He's learnt to write with his left hand and he's still able to drive. Major Reese told Flair that they will continue to raise funds to assist Kerr with home owner, acquire prosthetics and make arrangements to transport him to his daily visits to the hospital.
Major Reese also says they are investigating the possibility of redeploying Kerr to the Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) operation centre.
Overwhelmed
Kerr was overwhelmed by all the support and love shown to him. He said he's been going through 'hell' though there maybe a smile on his face. "You all are going through challenges but it's a part of life. Don't let your challenges bring you down."
