Helping one of their own

A group of former St James Secondary School (now Frederick Smith Secondary) students have joined hands to raise funds to assist cancer victim Ruth Quintyne with medical expenses.

This morning, during a brief ceremony at the Ministry of Labour, Quintyne received a $10, 000 cheque from the Trents 95 Alumni.

Trents 95 Alumni which was born out of an immediate need to help Quintyne, has as its mission to socially connect with Trents Class of ‘95 old scholars and to provide relief to those in need, by reason of ill-health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantages.

The funds were raised through a fish fry held at the Bay Street Esplanade on September 7, and also from donations from corporate Barbados and other kind-hearted citizens.

Almost a year ago, Quintyne was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, a cancer of the blood. She is currently undergoing chemotherapy treatment and is unable to work. Quintyne has no health insurance coverage and her focus right now is on winning with cancer and having a much-needed hip replacement surgery.

“It has been a challenging year mentally, and it’s only through God’s grace and mercy that I am here today and I am overwhelmed. I want to thank the Trents alumni, my schoolmates.

“It warms my heart to see that they really stepped out for me. I have seen the hard work that you guys put in, and I have seen the challenges that you had and I am sincerely grateful from the bottom of my heart to each and everyone of you,” said Quintyne. (AH)