Adolesan Spanish Town ki gen kansè nan zo nan tèt rekonèsans akademi an liy pandan li vize yon karyè medikal

WESTERN BUREAU: Yo di Nathel Taylor, ki gen disèt an, li pa ka chita nan yon sal klas regilye akòz kansè nan zo, e maladi a deja fè li pèdi yon janm. Malgre sa, diplome Caribbean Online Academy (COA) la kontinye etid li sou entènèt epi li kenbe fèm anbyisyon li pou travay nan domèn medsin yon jou.

Taylor soti Spanish Town nan St Catherine epi li ap antre nan katriyèm ane nan COA. Doktè yo diagnostike li ak osteosarcoma, yon kansè nan zo ki avanse rapidman, ki pi souvan kòmanse nan bra oswa janm, epi ki souvan parèt pami adolesan ak jèn adilt. Li fè klè ke maladi a pap anpeche li kontinye lekòl li.

"Mwen santi mwen fyè de siksè akademik mwen, sitou pandan m ap konfwonte pwoblèm sante m yo, e pandan fanmi m ak pwofesè m yo bèl ap sipòte m. Kansè a pran anpil tan m, men m refize kite li pran edikasyon m tou," Taylor di bay The Gleaner.

"Moun mande m kijan m fè lekòl m ak vizit lopital m an menm tan. Onètman, m pran sa yon jou nan yon lòt, e si m gen chimioterapi oswa yon kontwòl pou fè, m ap fè devwa m nan aswè oswa apre m rive lakay," li eksplike.

Disiplin sa a parèt nan seremoni rekonèsans COA a nan mwa jiyè 2025, kote Taylor koleksyone plis pri elèv pase nenpòt lòt kamarad li yo. Yo te nonmen li pi bon elèv nan gwoup uitèm ane li a epi li te pran premye plas nan gwoup laj li a nan Physics, English Language, Social Studies, Business Studies, ak Information Technology.

"Mwen motive pa objektif mwen pou antre nan domèn medsin, e pa manman m, ki ankouraje m pou m chèche siksè. Mwen pa janm kite yon jounen antye pase san m fè yon bagay, e li pa gen enpòtans kijan li piti, m ap toujou fè yon bagay," li kontinye. "Pa egzanp, m souvan pran kèz minit pou fè Mathematics, oswa m ap li yon paj nan dokiman Biology m yo. Menm si li piti, ti bagay yo ajoute sou tan."

Manman li, Latoya Lemonious, di wè li pouse devan ak leson yo pandan li ap fè tretman an fè li pi fèm nan determinasyon li. Li ap travay tou pou rasanble lajan pou yon janm prostetik pou li, ki koute plis pase $891,000.

"Gade Nathel fight for his education while fighting cancer showed me what real strength looks like. On hard days, such as after hospital visits, we will talk about his classes, and I tell him that cancer took his leg but not his future. We make sure he knows we are behind him 100 per cent," Lemonious di.

COA principal Judian Wright said Taylor stands as proof to staff and pupils that daunting obstacles need not define a person's path.

"Nathel Taylor has had a profound impact on our entire school community. Despite battling bone cancer, he has consistently demonstrated resilience. He is a very determined young man, and very optimistic," said Wright. "He brings a sense of enthusiasm and positivity to the classroom and the entire school community. Through his example, he teaches us that our circumstances do not have to determine our outcomes."

Wright and her husband, Donovan Wright, launched COA in 2016 to build a community of students and teachers focused on strong results in the Caribbean's regional standardised examinations.

The school's Homeschool Academy Division opened in 2022 under Wright's daughter Jada Wright, offering flexible online home-schooling for learners who find traditional timetables hard to manage.