‘HEARTBROKEN’
NEGRIL, Westmoreland — As she watched her daughter Bobby-Gayle Lefever gasp for air just three days after her 12th birthday, Kemeisha Williams knew that her young child was losing her battle with cancer.
Though her heart is broken, the mother of three is grateful that Bobby-Gayle’s last birthday was filled with love and happiness.
“Her birthday was last week Wednesday and she died on Saturday. The cancer took over her body and unfortunately the doctors couldn’t help her anymore. On her birthday she tried to give me a smile and I could see that she was weak,” Williams told the Jamaica Observer West in an exclusive interview.
“But, you know what? I thank God that I got the chance to be with her. It was hard to see her in that situation, but I thank God that I was there with her. I got some gifts from friends and family members, and I brought her a cake,” the mother added.
Williams made an appeal for help, through the Observer West last June, as she fought her hardest to save the life of her daughter. But as the bone cancer got more aggressive, the child became a double amputee just a month later as doctors had found tumours in both of her knees.
Throughout her three-year battle with cancer, Bobby-Gayle’s courage to live was evident, Williams told the Observer West, as she spent a great deal of time spreading a positive energy at home with her two siblings.
However, the child’s mind was stronger than her body as the cancer had started to spread at the start of this year. While Bobby-Gayle’s health continued to deteriorate as the days went by, Williams noticed a new swelling across her daughter’s chest.
Not only was this alarming, Williams stated, but she now had to come to terms with the realisation that she was losing her child, after speaking to her doctors.
“I took her back to the hospital where they did some tests and found out that she had a large tumour. So, from there the doctors told me that the best thing for me to do now is just spend time with her, show her all the love and affection and let her family members spend time with her,” said the grieving mother.
“She wasn’t eating anything at all, she was just drinking fluids and she was wearing diapers. She wasn’t very responsive because of her breathing as her left lung had now collapsed, so it was the right lung keeping her alive. She had to be on oxygen,” added Williams.
The family’s worst nightmare became a reality early Saturday morning, the Observer West learned.
“I got her back from the hospital on Friday, and I put her on oxygen at home. Around 5:00 am on Saturday the oxygen started to run low, and I called for assistance at the Negril Fire Station. However, I didn’t get through,” said Williams.
“Around 7:00 am the oxygen was now at the reserve line where you know she is going to get the last of it and I noticed blood started to come from her mouth. So, I called them again and they sent the ambulance, but by the time they got there her breathing was completely gone. I saw that her tummy was not moving and when I put my hand on her chest, I felt that her heart was barely beating.”
