KINGSTON, Jamaica— Veneshia Buckley, the mother of Kaylan Dowdie, is vowing to continue to fight alongside her teenage daughter in the battle to survive after being hospitalised from the brutal beating she received in November.

According to Buckley, who was speaking in a tearful live social media plea for assistance Monday night, she is being discouraged from going public; however, her daughter is at a stage in the recovery process that she will need assistance which is not available in Jamaica

Buckley said that Kaylan’s condition is deteriorating as she has developed a blood infection, swollen liver and unstable vital signs. She stated that the teenager needs to be moved from the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and will have to go overseas for a step-down facility, which is not available in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean.

“She is moving her limbs, hand and foot a move. She was doing so well and we are now back at square one because we don’t have the resources that she needs to get her out of ICU. That’s it. That’s all I have been asking for months now. Get her to a facility that has the resources that she needs. She has been infection free for months and now she is back at square one,” Buckley said.

Kaylan, who was then 17 years old, was allegedly beaten by five women while attending an illegal party on the night of Saturday, November 7 last year. She has been hospitalised at the University Hospital of the West Indies since then and has undergone multiple surgeries.

The women who allegedly committed the act are Shakeema McLeod, otherwise called ‘Keema’; Nadine Aldridge; Yoland Vassell; Timone Williams, otherwise called ‘Rusty’; and Casiann Lewis, otherwise called ‘Chrissy’.

They were arrested and charged but have since been out on bail. They will return to court on September 3, this year.

According to Buckley, her daughter is a fighter and has battled various complications to stay alive and now needs the public’s assistance to enable her condition to improve.

“She went into septic shock, two cardiacs in one night the last time she had a cardiac and she survived. Why should I give up if she is not giving up? If she is still fighting, why should I stop fighting? If she is not closing those eyes and keeping them shut, why should I? Why should I give up? Why do people want me to give up on my child?” Buckley said.

“Mi naw guh make it happen, till mi last breath. The only time I give up is when I am dead. That’s the only time I will give up. She is fighting, so I am going to fight along with her until the end. That is all I am here for. 

“They said she would never come off the ventilator and we got her off. It was short-lived, but at least she got to that point. That means there is hope and she survives all that.

“C2 spinal injury is above all the motoring skills, all the functions of the body and she still survived. They said most times C2 spinal injury is fatal, it leads to death and she survived. Why should I give up if she is not giving up,” Buckley added.

According to Buckley, she has reached out to members of the Jamaican entertainment fraternity and politicians for help but has not received any reply. She pleaded with corporate Jamaica for assistance as she believes that Kaylan will overcome the injuries from the beating.

“If God kept her this long, that means she will make it. She just needs the help. That’s all she needs if she survives this long, if she survives so much. They said she wasn’t going to be able to talk, she wasn’t going to be able to eat, she wasn’t going to remember me, she wasn’t going to walk, she wasn’t going to do anything,” Buckley shared.