At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Guyana in 2020, Moruca school teacher Carvil Adams was adjusting to university life in the city.
At that time, life in Guyana in terms of social, economic, and general everyday activities was in a tailspin as the pandemic wreaked havoc locally and globally. Adams had moved to the city with his family, and had, in September 2019, enrolled with his partner at the University of Guyana to read for a bachelor’s degree in education. Everything was going fairly well, according to him, but then things took a steep nosedive as the pandemic tightened its vice-grip on the country.
“Very dark time”
As the Health Ministry worked to curb the number of COVID-related fatalities during 2020, tragedy struck within Adams’s extended household.
At his home village of Waramuri, Moruca, two of his uncles passed away within the space of two days, after contracting COVID.
His partner Tonya Wilson, a schoolteacher, also lost her brother on the same day his second uncle died. Her brother was brutally chopped by an assailant, and he later succumbed to his injuries at the Kumaka District Hospital at Moruca.
“That period I would describe as a very dark time,” Adams has said. He describes that period as a “dreadful” and “scary” time, and has said it may have had a toll on him. Days later, on November 3, 2020, after the events of the preceding week, he suffered a stroke.
“On the morning when I was scheduled to restart my second year at university, that was when I got the stroke,” Adams said.
At the time, he was in the city, and the ailment forced him to take a year of study leave. He said he sought treatment, and remained in the city while undergoing therapy.
The stroke
He recalled waking up at around 07:00h on November 3, 2020 and realizing he had no feeling in the right side of his body. “So, at the time, I lost control – all control – of my right arm and both legs. So, I collapsed in the house,” he said.
Adams said he was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC), and arrived there when a change of shift was ongoing. He said he was placed in the hospital’s waiting area, and while there, he regained some movement in his right hand. As such, he said, he was told by medical officials that the stroke he had suffered that morning may have been transient.
He said the doctor ordered that a CT scan be performed, but it did not detect any blockage in his system. He said he spent most of the morning at the hospital, and at around midday, he was discharged. “The doctors said they could not give me any medication at that point in time,” he said.
A second stroke
Adams said he was taken home by his family, but at around 13:00hrs that day, he suffered a second stroke. “Again I lost mobility, but in both hands; and I also had some facial issues as a result, and my speech became slurred,” he said.
He said an appointment was made with a doctor at the St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, and he underwent an MRI scan and a series of tests. He said the MRI scan detected a blockage in the left side of his brain, but the staff of the hospital couldn’t identify what had triggered the stroke. “I think the only thing that was abnormal was that I had a bit of fat on my liver,” he said.
Adams was treated with prescribed medication, and has since been using the medication daily.
The recovery
Prior to the stroke, Adams was an active athlete, and he noted that he was quick in the 100-metre and 200-metre races. “I also did javelin and discus, and I even represented my region at the National Championships,” he said. He said that, given his record on the track and his overall physical strength, facing the reality of being immobile because of the stroke was “hard to accept.”
He said he was referred to the Palms Rehab Center on Brickdam, and there was where his recovery started. He said the staff at the center were instrumental in “reshaping my frame of mind to get back at university to study.”
Adams said: “While I was at the Palms, I met many other patients who, like myself, all suffered strokes and different neurological injuries. Some had recovered close to one hundred percent, while others were not so lucky. Some lost their speech altogether, some lost mobility and speech; it was depressing at times,” he explained.
He said his physical therapy, which lasted four months, included visiting the National Aquatic Center at Liliendaal, where he worked with the therapists from the Palms as well as final-year medical students of UG.
He said he was taught exercises that would assist in controlling the arms and legs, and utilised the treadmill to assist in recovery. He singled out Ms. Lawrence and Ms. Gracella at the Palms as persons who each played a key role in motivating him to return to university.
“What I have learnt with the stroke is that recovery is lifelong. Whether it was recent or years back, your recovery is always ongoing, and you always have to work at it to retrain the brain to adapt,” Adams noted.
Restarting at UG
Adams said Ms. Lawrence introduced him to Mr. Ganesh Singh, a visually-impaired academic, who told him about a scholarship offered by the Government for persons with disabilities. He said in September 2021 he restarted his studies at the university, after being offered the scholarship.
He said he continued teaching, and at the time of suffering the stroke, he was seconded to the St Barnabas Special School.
The determined Adams said he has a family, and as such, he saw the entire scenario as a challenge that he simply had to overcome. “So, I had to return to work in order to continue earning and meet my day-to-day expenses, such as food, rent, and so forth,” he said.
His partner, who continued her studies at university, also inspired him to continue studying. He reiterated that he and his partner commenced studies at UG at the same time in September 2019, and he urged her to continue studying despite the difficulties the family faced.
“So, she was there with me at the clinic for the first couple of appointments, but as I gradually started recovering, some stuff I started to do on my own. She was very supportive, and that is one of the things that helped me to get through – the support of family and friends,” he said.
Becoming a left-hander
Adams said returning to study was a challenge, since he had to adapt to utilizing the online platforms. He said he was a natural right-hander, but because of the stoke, he lost the ability to type, and had to learn how to sign and write with his left hand.
He said that when he is out in the public, such as at the Post Office, people would question him regarding his sloth in signing his name. “I would then have to explain to them that I was a right-hander and that I lost the ability to write with my right hand,” he said.
He said the stroke affected his speech to a small degree, but it impacted his ability to think quickly. “So now I speak at a slower rate, and I would have to pause, and some of these presentations at university are timed activities. But I have been coping well,” he said.
The Dean’s Honour Roll
Recently, the University of Guyana paid special recognition to students who made the Dean’s Honour Roll, an achievement in which students with a grade point average (GPA) of 3.4 to 4.0 are recognized for their performance.
Adams said he never paid much attention to his GPA, but works to the best of his ability. “I had set a goal prior to starting at UG. And despite the stroke, I will complete UG,” he said in a determined tone. He said that earlier this month, when the university called to inform him that he had qualified to be on the Dean’s Honour Roll, he was elated. “Yea! I was happy that I survived the stroke and I am able to pursue the goal of obtaining my degree and to be honoured for my performance,” he said.
Adams, who can be best described as being reserved, noted that sometimes he is surprised at his grades, since the courses can be challenging, especially for him, given his personal condition. He says he looks forward to completing his degree this year, as well as graduating this year end. He said he is also looking forward to returning to Moruca, to the Santa Rosa Secondary, where he had been teaching for several years prior to moving to study in the city.
