Help Support Connie Campbell Sing Again After Having A Stroke

THE little country church in the sleepy, deep rural district of Clapham was filled to capacity on that rainy evening 10 years ago. It was Miss Eva's funeral and it seemed as if every household had emptied itself to attend. I sat on a hard church bench like everyone else as Connie, one of Miss Eva's grandchildren, walked past the casket and up to the pulpit to sing in honour of the widely loved matriarch of the Wallace family. Connie was 20-something and just a little slip of a girl. As country funerals go, I expected nothing more than the usual -- droning hymns and overdone speeches. 

And then Connie began to sing and the church, including myself, wondered how such a giant of a voice could come from such a small body. I was stunned because her voice was 'off the charts', meaning it had that quality that immediately made one say, "Why is she not earning millions making recordings?" Halfway through the song Connie broke down in tears and was unable to continue. I must confess that in the years which followed I lost track of her. 

I know she was a back-up singer for Luciano and other headliners, had a daughter and travelled extensively as she gatheredcredits for the full launch of her solo career. In recent times she did back-up for Shaggy and was well on her way to stardom until tragedy struck in a most brutal and unexpected way. On August 23 last year she was at the Crossroads Entertainment Complex in Maryland. Minutes before she was due to perform she had a seizure. Everyone was shocked because Connie took the view that what others tended to do in the rough world of entertainment was not necessarily her way. She therefore shunned the world of drugs and heavy drinking. 

At 34 years old Connie was diagnosed as having suffered from a brainstem stroke. Connie has Locked-in Syndrome -- LIS -- she hears everything, is able to react to some commands, but is unable to speak. Her health insurance has since been used up by the hospital, which included costs for time in the ICU of up to US$5,000 per day. Connie should have been transferred to a rehabilitation facility from September 17 as she needs speech, vent-weaning care, and long-term occupational and physical therapy. 

The brain stem takes six to nine months to regrow and rehab will be for one to two years, depending on her response to treatment. Proposals from rehab facilities ask for US$90,000 down payment as security, and monthly amounts of US$45,000. These amounts are not petty, but doctors are of the view that Connie's youth is a factor in her recovery. That will, however, take time. Her sister Sandra Campbell, a life underwriter with Sagicor, and someone whom I have known all of her life, said, "Her neurologists state that because she has youth in her favour she has a great chance, but her recovery will take time, and as the family is experiencing, it takes money for her recovery. "I have personally met with Dr Trevor McCartney CMO, physiatrist Dr Paula Dawson, and spoken to senior personnel at the KPH about her return to a Jamaican facility. Her move here, they said, is not advisable as the hospitals do not have adequate facilities and human resources for a patient needing long-term ventilator support and rehabilitation. 

"I am asking for assistance... as every bit counts. Connie has an 11-year-old daughter, Gianni, who is now in my care, and consistently dreams of her mother's return. 

"We have formed the CONNIE CAMPBELL FOUNDATION with accounts at RBTT, Dominica Drive: Ja Sav Ac# 44103172004606326 and US Sav Ac# 10317200406318." 

To compound matters, Connie's family is under stress from the courts. Said Sandra, "I am to attend court in Maryland in April, as the hospital is suing for monies owed and are applying to the courts for custody of Connie, so they can make decisions on her behalf. If I get her in a rehab facility, the attorney said, the case will be dropped." 

I am asking readers to assist, not because Connie can and will sing again, not because she is one of us, not because she brought joy into the lives of those who heard her and knew her, but because life is tenuous and we are all subject to its unpleasant surprises. Please, do all you can to give some help and make Connie sing again.