Claude Noel, the country's first World Championship boxer is on the verge of total blindness, and he is calling on new Minister of Sport Brent Sancho to come to his aid before the situation worsens.
Noel, who put T&T on the world map in 1982 with a victory over Mexican Elgato Gonzales for the World Boxing Title in the lightweight division, has now found himself against the ropes. After a failed attempt to remove a cataract in his left eye a few years ago, Noel is now blind and a worsening case of diabetes only allows him to see shadows.
Noel said that with his diabetic situation deteriorating, he will soon lose sight in his right eye totally.
In addition the former Commonwealth, Latin America and T&T number one ranked boxer in the late 1970s and early 1980s, is in dire need of help to fix his falling roof at Malabar, Arima, as well as finances to fill his bare cupboards.
The former boxer, now 67, said: "All I can see now is the shadows of people. I used to cook for myself but my sight has become so bad that I can no longer do it. I am really in need of some help."
Noel's only comfort has been his nephew who tries to administer assistance with his insulin. A group of former boxers known as the "Friends of Claude" also pays him regular visits.
The group which comprises Michael Paul, Isaac Thomas, Ralph Peterkin, Ramsome Flemming, Michael Williams, Walter Peters, Keith Aberdeen, Nathaniel Jones and Winston Cox also tries to supply Noel with foodstuff when they can but while Noel has been thankful for the gesture by his friends, he feels it is one that should be done by the government, by virtue of his service to the nation.
Noel is calling on Sancho to help him get a live-in nurse or care-taker who can check his sugar levels daily, administer insulin when necessary and provide him with the type of daily meals to combat his diabetes. He said: "Sometimes my niece would cook food and bring for me but it does not suit the diet I should be on as a diabetic."
He added: "For what I have done for this country I think I am deserving of more attention during this time of severe illness. I am not demanding anything but I think I really need some help and should be recognised at this time."
Noel was hoping to receive major assistance following a newspaper report last year, but said he was totally deceived when someone by the name of Miss Dillon called him and told him that she had received a letter from Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to help him.
Instead the ex-boxer said he had only received a run-around with Dillon only promising that she will send someone to assess his situation but never did.
Noel is also grappling with the disappointment of not being paid for well over a year when he was an employee for the T&T Boxing Board.
He says this non-payment may have stemmed from a callous individual who held an advisory position on the board and is also a major promoter for the sport today.
When quizzed as to how much he was owed the ailing ex boxer said well over $60,000.
Noel's wife and children have been living in the United States for over ten years, and attempts to join them proved futile after he was denied by the Embassy in 2009, but the former boxer vowed to try again.