THE last thing on Joval Trail’s mind last Christmas was a trip to the hospital. In fact, his family was enjoying the season with an outing as is customary in the rural Portland community of Nonsuch.

It was Boxing Day, 2010, and a family fun day was being held in Swift River, also in Portland. Five men, including 22-year-old Trail, were on their way to the event, all travelling in a twin cab pickup from Nonsuch.

Upon leaving Nonsuch, the men decided to stop at the only ice cream shop in Breastworks. Had the stop been for ice cream alone, perhaps the deadly incident that occurred a little while later could have been prevented. The pick up driver had been drinking alcohol before, during the stop at the ice cream shop, and also during the journey.

Trail, who was riding in the cab of the pickup, opted to sit in the truck’s open back as the trip continued.

Travelling along the winding road through the Portland hills Trail noticed the driver’s increasing speed, but there was little he could do from the back of the pickup, except hold on tightly. “You coulda feel di driver speeding and him don’t know di road,” Trail recounts.

Speeding along, the travellers arrived in Boundbrook where there is a sharp dip in the road just after a small bridge.

Trail insists that the driver did not know the area because if he did, he would have been aware of a notorious sink in the road. “Accident happen outta dat sink more than one time, plenty other driver say di same ting,” Trail recalls.

Approaching this part of the road, the driver lost control of the pickup and launched head-on into a wooden light post.

The pole shattered the windscreen and stabbed the neck of one of the passengers, killing him. Another passenger in the cab suffered severe head injuries and had to be transported to the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) via air ambulance. Trail was thrown from the pickup bed into a nearby clump of bushes where he remained unconscious until help arrived and he was transported to Annatto Bay Hospital.

There he received stitches to his head and was later transferred to KPH.

But although Trail regained consciousness his life was dramatically changed.

He had suffered severe spinal injury as well as a punctured lung. Until he could acquire the funds needed to attend to his spine, Trail was completely bedridden; he was fitted with a urine bag and had to wear adult diapers.

Trail’s mother, sister and older brother sacrificed for three months to raise the $318,000 needed for the operation. His mother grows ground provisions and purchases fruits and vegetables from neighbouring farmers, which she sells in Port Antonio and Kingston’s Coronation Market. Trail’s sister manages a small store selling meat, dried goods and haberdashery.

By March 2011, the funds were raised but the discovery of a blood clot complicated matters. Before attempting to repair Trail’s spine, doctors had to remove the clot, lengthening the time spent on the operating table — a total of 14 hours.

Trail is still unable to walk and there is little feeling in his legs. He is still attached to a urine bag and remains incontinent.

Nonetheless, throughout his bitter experience, Trail is tremendously grateful for his family’s support. His sister and mother visit the Mona Rehab centre twice a week to supply him with fresh fruits and toiletry needs.

Facing his ordeal head-on Trail realises his recovery greatly depends on his own inner strength and willpower: “It all haffi do wid me, anytime mi feel like di feeling a come back in di foot, I will try and walk.”

Asked what message he has for motorists on the road, Trail cautioned: “Drivers have to be more careful. Drinking is a dangerous ting, when you drink is like you not in your right mind — cause wid my case it come een like sey di driver was a show-off sey him can drive an’ is di speeding that cause all of dis.”

Trail’s comments resonate with the National Road Safety Council’s (NRSC) public education campaign.

“In many countries, crashes take place on a Friday night and sometimes on a Saturday and Sunday. It may be related to the use of alcohol,” says NRSC vice-chairman Dr Lucien Jones.

Dr Jones also warned against driving when overly tired and asserts that sleep deprivation is another contributing factor to accidents.

The effect of road fatalities not only affects the individual, but also the family and the wider community, noted Dr Tamu Davidson-Sadler the Ministry of Health’s Medical Epidemiologist in Chronic Diseases and Injury Prevention.

“There is a cost to the family as most of the people involved in accidents are breadwinners,” says Davidson-Sadler.

She also emphasised that there is a cost to the health sector, “as there is a need to look after the patient throughout their lifetime”.

Prior to the crash, Trail assisted his brother in tiling jobs they undertook as a team. But Trail’s injury has now forced his brother to seek outside help in order to sustain his livelihood.

And although Trail is aware that there is a 50 per cent chance he may never walk again, he continues to live in hope: “Mi haffi remain positive, mi family a look out for me so mi haffi try stay positive and trust in God as much as possible,” he says.

— Contributed.