They say there is no greater pain than losing a child, but what happens when you don’t lose your child entirely, but instead lose the joyful person they once were? Their laugh, their voice, their energy—all gone in an instant. It’s a grief the Fraser family of Alligator Pond, Manchester, knows all too well.

Anntonett Forbes and Dushon Fraser were overjoyed when their second daughter, Harmonie Fraser, arrived after months of trying. With bright eyes and a bubbly personality, “Baby Harmonie” as she’s affectionately known, quickly became the heart of the household.

“She was such a happy baby,” recalled one resident of their tight-knit fishing community.

However, that happiness was shattered just a year later. What began as a routine hospital visit in December 2023 turned into every parent’s nightmare.

“They nebulised her and then sent us for a chest X-ray,” Forbes explained. “She had a chest infection, so she was admitted on December 22. On Christmas morning, I visited her. She told me what she had for breakfast. She seemed fine.”

But hours later, everything changed.

“When I came back at 3:00 pm, she was lying down. I said, ‘Harmonie, why are you sleeping so early?’ I turned her over and said, ‘Harmonie, don’t do this to mommy’. She was unresponsive, no heartbeat, no pulse.”

Doctors rushed to perform CPR and managed to resuscitate her. Harmonie was placed on life support and remained unresponsive for nearly two weeks. When she finally woke up, her mother immediately knew something was wrong.

“She didn’t look like my child anymore. I told them something was off. We did a CT scan, MRI, saw the cardiologist… the MRI confirmed a hypoxic brain injury,” Forbes shared.

In a matter of days, their vibrant, healthy toddler had suffered catastrophic brain damage due to a lack of oxygen. The effects have been devastating.

“She can’t walk, can’t talk. She just cries all day and all night,” her mother said, visibly emotional. “Our world came crashing down.”

Unable to work while caring for Harmonie full-time, Forbes has thrown herself into finding treatment for her daughter. Through community support and donations, Harmonie has already received one round of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in the United States and stem cell treatment in Mexico— treatments her mother said have shown some promise.

“Doing the hyperbaric therapy was the best decision we made since she got sick,” she said.

But the road to recovery is long and expensive. The family is now at a standstill, unable to afford continued therapy. The next round of hyperbaric treatment and psychotherapy, which are essential to give Harmonie any real chance at improvement, costs over US$11,000.

“We simply can’t afford it,” said Forbes. “We’re not working. We’ve exhausted all we have. I’m begging Jamaica, anyone who can help us, please help us give Harmonie a fighting chance at a better life.”

Those willing to support the Fraser family’s efforts can contact them directly at (876) 488-8417 or contribute through their National Commercial Bank account at Harmonie Fraser, Medical Fund, Junction Branch, Account number 884344662.