ÐÓ°ÉÐÔ°É

Imagine losing a son at four months old, and then asking God for another, only for that gift to be taken away six years later. That is the heartbreaking reality Cornealia Berry has had to deal with.

Last Saturday, she stood by in agony as doctors at the Bustamante Hospital for Children made a desperate but unsuccessful attempt to save the life of her son, Wilijah Whyte.

"I prayed so hard for God to give me a next son, and when Wilijah was born I was so grateful, like God was redeeming me for the son I lost before. However, little did I know he would take this one too," a broken Berry told THE STAR.

In 2004, her son, Elijah, then four months old, died suddenly. Some 14 years later, Wilijah was born. Berry, a mother of six, said it felt as if God answered her prayers to send her another son. She said Wilijah was an active and jovial child who was seemingly healthy. However, her world turned upside down last October when Wilijah began vomiting, forcing his mother to seek medical attention.

"I brought him to the doctor and they said it was a virus going around in the air. He got medication and he got better and then he got back sick," Berry said.

The mother said she decided to take Wilijah to the Bustamante Hospital for Children, and after having multiple visits, she got the dreaded diagnosis.

"The doctor told me he got a stroke on the left side. Mi seh stroke?" she recalled of her disbelief.

However, nothing prepared her for the results of the scans that came next. The doctors told her that Wilijah had a tumour that took over three quarters of the brain and he had to do an emergency surgery.

"When the doctor tell me, a sit dung mi sit dung because if mi did stand up, mi would a drop dung or pass out because mi nah look fi hear that. Mi start to cry because mi a seh how mi baby fi have brain tumour and nothing neva do him yet," Berry said.

Young Wilijah went through nine surgeries during his two months and two days in hospital. His mother said that he contracted a bacterial infection while in hospital. Last Saturday, while waiting to visit her son on the ward, she peered through a window and saw him on his bed. He lifted his head and his eyes met hers. "Mommy," he said to her. It was the last time she heard his voice.

The mother told THE STAR that after being admitted to the ward to visit her son, she noticed that his tummy was puffy and he was unresponsive. She raised an alarm, but despite the best effort of the medical personnel, Wilijah never revived.