Shelley Nath Ng Fong always loved the water. While pursuing her degree in Science and Mathematics at UWI, St Augustine, she represented Trinity Hall at the Inter Hall Games. After graduation, she worked in IT at several jobs, including Caroni, Republic Bank and Algico. When marriage and three children came along, she chose to work from home, doing consultancy and a little catering. Life was moving smoothly on track. Today, though, just sitting up in bed takes an act of will. Ng Fong's memories of July 22, 2009, are shrouded in a merciful grey fog. She and her husband Neil had just picked up some barbecue dinners and were headed to the Petrotrin Club to lime. Their son Sean was strapped into the back seat. It had been raining long and hard. The car skidded on a patch of oil and began to spin. With the lightning-fast reflexes most of us only experience when faced with mortal danger, she twisted in her seat, yanked her son out of his belt, and hauled him over into the front. "I don't remember, but between God and myself, he ended up on top of the gear lever." Sean got a broken leg and a dislocated knee. The rear of the car crumpled like an accordion, obliterating the back seat.
The next thing Ng Fong remembers was being asked questions by the paramedics...and realising she couldn't answer. "I blinked, to let them know I understood, but I couldn't talk." She blacked out again, and woke in the emergency room to the sound of her son crying and her husband throwing up. Her pain was excruciating. With the little ability she could muster to speak, she begged for pain-killers, the kind that would float her off to sleep again. Because of the trauma she suffered to her spine, she was paralysed from the neck down. Over the next five months, she endured tests and physiotherapy. Her Catholic upbringing, backed by her son's miraculous survival, gave her the confidence that she, too, was under God's watchful eye. "I never for a moment thought this might be permanent. If He didn't want me to survive, I wouldn't have." Three months in, she was regaining upper body mobility and on Christmas Eve 2009, she left the hospital under her own steam, supported by a walker. Incredibly, she began working again, getting up at 3 am to bathe and dress herself. Every task took twice as long as it did before. "Because I had no sensation in my legs, I was bruising myself, and didn't even know, but I was still able to do a lot." In 2011, she began to notice a slow deterioration of her hard-won gains, in spite of on-going physiotherapy. It turned out that fluid had begun collecting in her spine. By April of that year she could no longer stand.
Her husband, Neil, continues to work at Petrotrin as an engineer while managing the home and the children. She laughs at the thought of him soldiering on through feminine jobs, such as finding dresses for their daughters, but is deeply moved by his devotion to her and their family. "You've got to love him. Another man would have walked away." Back in hospital, she looks forward to her weekly visits from her children. Sean, now 6, understands little about what happened to his mother, as he has Down Syndrome. The two girls, aged 11 and 12, chat and share a meal with her. It's hard, she admits, not being there for them, but she still glows with optimism about her future. Even as she hopes and prays for recovery, another threat looms, financial hardship resulting from their enormous medical bills. Their insurance has run out, as have Petrotrin's medical benefits. The couple now faces a debt that will take 25 years to pay off. This is where Ng Fong's friends have stepped in. They've been organising fund-raisers and benefits to help her pay down her debt, and cover expenses such as home care once she is discharged. The next big do, organised by a group called Friends with a Cause, is scheduled for this Saturday, in the form of a gala dinner at the Centre Point Mall, Chaguanas, at 7 pm. Tickets are $250, available from Wendy (684-4501); Ramona (678-5604); Karen (688-9509) or Cindy (788-2455). Supporters can donate at Scotia Bank account No 1201852, or find the Help Shelley Nath Ng Fong page on Facebook. There's more information at helpshelley.blogspot.com. With a little help from her friends, Ng Fong knows she will rise again. "You can't put a time on anything like this," she says, but hopes that by the next term she will be able to stand again to help with the children. For her, it's a matter of hope, hard work, and prayer. "They believe I will walk again. I believe I will walk again."