MONTEGO BAY, St James — Stacy-Ann Brown, the burn victim who recently appealed for help to remove a large pancreatic pseudocyst she developed from damage caused by medication, is appreciative of the monetary assistance she has received and the successful surgery which followed.

The size of the pseudocyst, its volume equating to two litres, coupled with the potential hazard it posed to her failing health, had forced Brown to seek surgical expertise from professionals operating out of the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI).

She was then given a date for surgery of March 28 and a bill for $400,000. However, she experienced difficulty coming up with the money.

“I am most grateful…I don’t even have the words to explain how thankful I am. I never expected any help; I had planned to just work and save a little money each month then I’d put the money together and go do the surgery,” Brown told the Jamaica Observer.

“I think because of what happened where the burn incident is concerned, I am more used to people turning their backs on me, and I have gotten so used to people shunning me. But, I got a lot of help and I came around quite nicely, although it was such a major surgery. It was a success; I thought that I would have had a lot of soreness, but I didn’t,” said the Kingston woman, a victim of a malicious acid attack allegedly at the hands of a jealous ex-lover.

With a heart full of relief and gratitude Brown said that not only is she grateful for the Sunday Observer readers who jumped to her aid after her appeal in the March 13, 2022 edition of the paper, but also the doctors at the UHWI.

“I want to big up the doctors, surgeons and everybody that came together to make it possible. I don’t have to worry about getting bumped into on the bus anymore, so I am very happy,” she said.

Expressing deep sadness regarding what she described as a lack of emotional help given to victims of these hate crimes across the island, Brown told the Sunday Observer that though it has been eight years since she was badly burned after ending a tumultuous relationship, she still battles with the emotional scars.

“One thing that surprises me in Jamaica is the fact that we don’t have a strong foundation for the victims of burn attacks and domestic violence. I tried going through the UHWI to set up something but it didn’t work out,” said Brown.

“No matter how much the victim’s body is fixed by a doctor, the level of damage is not shown — because while you see the scars on the outside the damage is really on the inside. If you can fix the inside then you are not a victim, you are an overcomer — and that is where most people have problems.

“When it comes on to burn and the dysfunction that it comes with, we need a stronger foundation because we are a people of sight and what we see is what we gravitate to, so one who is without a strong self-esteem may have a major breakdown trying to navigate through this new life.”

While she has had to learn how to move along with her life, Brown admitted that she, too, is no stranger to the emotional damage brought on by this trauma.

“Doctors do the necessary work to put the victims back on their feet but when they release you, society now determines who you are. A lot of us also do not have strong family to help us through this and it is very overwhelming to deal with it on your own,” she said.

“I was a very outgoing woman before the incident; I knew how to have fun and I lived a very good life…now I don’t know if I even have fun,” said Brown, adding that she now places major focus on her job at Eleni’s Bakery in St Andrew.