Noel Thompson, Freelance Writer
Woman Constable Dawn Lewis and Constable Wayne Wallace assist Constable Cecil Bond, who sustained spinal injuries in an accident in 2002, in getting dressed while Constable Dayan Lightfoot looks on. All are stationed at the Falmouth Police Station in Trelawny. - PHOTO BY NOEL THOMPSON
WESTERN BUREAU:
HAVING SERVED the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) for 17 years, Constable Cecil Bond has spent the past two years in bed pondering his future and whether he will walk again.
The once active Bond, now 39, spends his days and nights propped up in a specially-designed bed at home watching television. Cons. Bond is crippled from the waist down. His hands too are partially paralysed.
"There is only one dream I have right now and it is to walk again," a saddened Bond told The Gleaner, as he fiddled with the TV remote.
But his dream can only be made possible if he identifies the J$800,000 needed to undertake an operation at a Cuban hospital.
"I am ready to go to Cuba, but I have no money. I am financially stretched to the limit. I would be very grateful if any organisation and individuals could make this dream a reality," he lamented.
His family, friends and colleagues are the ones who assist with his personal care and welfare.
"(He) has to travel to Ocho Rios twice weekly for physiotherapy and this is done with the assistance of myself, the Police Community Relations Department, Supt. Harris Daley, Woman Cpl. Olivette McKenzie and Woman Cons. Dawn Lewis, who lends her car for us to use," said Cons. Wayne Wallace.
CONTRIBUTIONS
At the Police Federation Conference in Trelawny, last week, J$38,000 was collected from members to fund his trip to Cuba. Further contributions can be made to Account #10463595, Jamaica National Building Society.
On May 2, 2004, Cons. Bond was driving his private car when it climbed an embankment along the highway and overturned in the vicinity of the Starfish Resort. He was unconscious for days and was admitted at the Cornwall Regional Hospital for six months.
"I could not talk so I had to communicate to the medical staff by blinking my eyes at the show of the letters of the alphabet. I was very depressed and a male Christian doctor would counsel me daily. When I visited the Mona Rehabilitation Centre and saw others in a worse situation than I, it helped to boost my spirit and confidence," he said.
Up to the time of the accident, he was attached to the Stewart Town Police Station in Upper Trelawny and was scheduled to be transferred to the traffic department at the Falmouth Police Station two weeks earlier.
At the recently-concluded federation conference, Corporal Raymond Wilson, Jamaica Police Federation Chairman, told delegates that the time had come for clarification on when a policeman or woman is regarded as being on duty as there is controversy surrounding the matter. To date, Cons. Bond has not received compensation since the accident.
