Tobago Correspondent
Relatives of Nicoya Bernard-Paul, who was injured in a chopping incident in Signal Hill, are breathing a sigh of relief after her disabled son was discharged from Scarborough General Hospital. The 18-year-old nearly died in a fire on Wednesday.
Fire officers rescued him on Wednesday morning after his stepfather, Steve Paul, set their home ablaze while he was still inside. Before the fire, Paul, an employee of the Department of Marine Resources, chopped his wife in the neck during an argument. He later died by suicide in the fire.
Relatives confirmed yesterday that Bernard-Paul remained in stable condition as she recovered from her injuries. Her son, described affectionately by one of his aunts on Wednesday as “her baby”, was treated for smoke inhalation.
His relatives, who live next door to the home where the incident occurred, collected him from the hospital on Thursday afternoon after his discharge. There was a brief delay getting him from the vehicle into their house because his wheelchair had been left at a neighbour’s home overnight after his rescue.
The family is seeking counselling, relatives said. Guardian Media understands that Student Support Services has been activated at one school, where the principal warned students against making insensitive statements.
Michael Stewart, founder of B-Men, an advocacy group focused on men’s health and wellness, visited the family yesterday to offer his condolences. He told Guardian Media that men must be able to address their problems in a civil manner.
“It is important that we bond with other men. There are times we going through things, and we need to resolve it by speaking to somebody. Sometimes when we keep things bottled up inside, all of that builds up over a period of time and bursts eventually. We need to learn to talk,” he said.
Stewart said men’s ego and pride can make them hesitant to discuss their problems because they fear being perceived as weak.
“So we will sit down and we will talk sports and engage a lot on that. We will talk about a number of other things like politics, but when it comes to what’s happening to us, we tend not to talk.
“I think we need a safe space to sit down and share some of the real things that we are going through.”
