Mother damages her spine after sliding down Great House bad road 

By Admin. Updated 6:15 p.m., Wednesday, November 27, 2024, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4). 

A mother of four who runs a local business has been left partially immobile after sliding down and damaging her spine while on her way home one evening.

Today, as she recovers, she fears that her children, her fiancé, or her neighbors could suffer the same fate while coming home or heading out from the Great House/Buddy Gutter area, where the footpaths are slippery due to inadequate drainage.

Her injuries have rendered her unable to operate her ice cream shop in Kingstown, but her fiancé and oldest child are trying their best to provide support.

The Incident

It was a regular day in October 2023 for Rachel Marshall. She and her fiancé had just completed a full day’s work and were headed home while considering what they should prepare for dinner.

But that was not the only thing on their minds. It was a rainy night, and everyone who lives in the Great House/Buddy Gutter area knows the anxiety they feel when having to traverse the treacherous and sometimes slippery footpaths to or from home.

Several residents in the area told One News SVG during recent filming for a program called Unheard that they had slipped and fallen, with some suffering fractured or broken legs.

The area has insufficient drainage and no paved roads in some parts. Some residents who have lived in the informal human settlement for over 30 years said that successive governments have abandoned the area.

“You hear stories of people slipping and sliding, so you know you have to be very careful, and I was very careful,” she told One News SVG.

Little did she know that her meticulousness would not be enough to prevent a fall that would completely change her life.

The mother of four children, two teenagers, and two preteens, fell on her bottom on a flight of steps. Her fiancé, who had slipped and slid several times on the same community pathway, was able to stabilize himself and came to her aid. They then continued their journey home, which was a few yards away.

Medical Evaluation

The next day, they went to a private clinic to conduct an X-ray, which revealed, preliminarily, that part of Ms. Marshall’s spine appeared to have shifted upwards in her neck.

Post-Incident Symptoms

Since the incident, Ms. Marshall has been experiencing occasional pain in her neck and stiffness.

Without a clear way forward in terms of conclusive medical advice, the couple continued their business while monitoring the situation.

Fateful Day

It was on September 12, 2024, that fate struck. Ms. Marshall said she continued the day feeling the usual stiffness in her neck.

“But the pain began to spread throughout her body.

“The pain spread from my neck to my right shoulder,” she told One News SVG in a recent interview.

After going to the hospital due to the discomfort, the pain then spread to her left arm, then to her right, and finally to her left foot. “That is when I couldn’t walk,” she said.

She was admitted to the hospital on September 13 and received surgery on September 15.

An X-ray and an MRI before the surgery revealed that two discs in her spine needed to be replaced.”

Even while she hopes for more normalcy in her personal life, she is one of several residents of the community hoping that the government can address the roads and drainage issues in the area in a focused and urgent way. 

One of her children said she feels so broken down about the situation and is very terrified of losing her mother.

HERE IS A VIDEO OF THE ISSUES IN THE AREA