Hi, I am Kerr Lesman also known as “Randy.” I am 48-years of age and has spent over 20 years of my life as a Track and Field Official as I am very passionate about athletics. Whenever I am not on the track at various track meets, I work in the hotel industry; but in 2006, I suffered a spinal cord compression and everything took a down turn for me in both careers and several other aspects of my life. I used to work at several resorts as pool attendant and maintenance man. I am a track and field official and other stuff so I was always independent. One day I was at work and was standing up and talking to my supervisor, and a piece a cramp hold mi. Mi step off and the cramp hold mi same way and mi just drop on my face. Mi never did a feel any pain, just bare cramps. I went for a check-up at the Cornwall Regional Hospital in St James and checks revealed that I had a spinal injury. One of the most common symptoms is stiffness or pain in the back or the neck. Numbness or weakness in the legs, hands, and arms can also develop. A condition known as cauda equina syndrome can develop if the compression is in the lumbar area. Those symptoms include severe pain and weakness in the legs, a loss of bowel and bladder control, and severe numbness in the back of the legs and inner thighs. The condition affects fine motor skills and coordination. The doctor said I have a opening in my spine and it’s stretched. I am to get a second and third opinion from the University Hospital of the West Indies and the Kingston Public Hospital and they said the same thing. Im not currently in any pain but experiencing severe numbness and cramps; I also have to ALWAYS be in shoes. Despite having the condition for years, I felt as if my independence was ripped from me in 2018, when I started depending on crutches to help me move around. I am urgently in need of a corrective surgery which costs US$15,300 (approximately $2.3 million) but I am unable to find even a quarter of the amount. The operation is slated to be done in Cuba at the Comercializadora de Servicios Medicos Cubanos, and I am kindly seeking the public’s assistance in getting the required amount. I work very hard and I don’t like to beg but I have no other choice. I have to walk with crutches due to the cramps I randomly experience. I’m unable to hold in my urine and even find it difficult wipe my bottom plus I’m unable to work the way I’m used to. It’s holding me back to make a living because  I now move slower and I can’t climb up and do things and a lot of my work include climbing; moreover, I am often shunned because of my condition. Several times I hide the crutches outside or behind vehicles and go for interviews but because a lot of people know mi in Hanover, it don’t usually work out. I just want to get over this and get back on with my life. In addition to my medical condition, I would really appreciate some help also to relocate from the dilapidated structure I live in and build even if its a one room house in order to come off the hill that I am currently residing. Due to my physical disability, when it rains its even more difficulty to go up or come down the hill. Most times, taxi drivers don’t want to go in the area and I have to pay extra for them to take me to where I live and sometimes its the last money I have I ended up paying and have to beg for money to help buy food. Sometimes, I have to go the nearest Food for the Poor center to eat breakfast and lunch and share the lunch in two for dinner as well then head back home. Where I live also has NO kitchen and NO bathroom or wash area so I have to do all those activities outside. However, it is very difficult for me to wash because I have to put two crates together to make a platform that’s at a comfortable height in order to lift the baths and place on top of it to wash. I am not a 100% sure how labour pain feels but based on women’s description of it, when I am through washing, I feel like I am in labour and has to lay in bed for the reminder of the day because of the level of pain I endure after putting such strain on my spinal area. So please if anyone so generous towards my plea and appreciates my years of services to this country and our youths, see my campaign and can contribute to help me carry out this operation and help provide me with a comfortable place to call home, I would be more than grateful for your donations.   Thank you.   Credit: Some of my campaign content was extracted from my interview in The Jamaica Star @http://jamaica-star.com/article/news/20230419/spinal-condition-sidelines-hotel-worker