Health

Perhaps the most surprising element of the general elections was the low voter turnout. According to the latest figures from the Election and Boundaries Commission, only 53.92% of eligible voters turned up at the polls. It is reported to be the second lowest in our history. Given the high-pitched nature …

Chapter 4: Had to manage my expectations… And what do you do when you are given life-changing news? Spiral? Lean on your support system? Self-isolate? Crash? Go in and out of depression? Well, I can safely say that I did all of the above. At different times, my needs called …

I have been having a bout of angst, despair maybe; I’m not sure how to describe the wave of bleakness that has been washing over me. An optimist at heart, I am usually able to ferret out things that bring even a glimmer of hope under trying circumstances. I know …

“[…] Our reality is that: women still make up only 23% of members of Parliament; the unemployment rate for women remains higher than for men, especially among young women aged 15-24 (CSO, 2022); and one in three women in Trinidad and Tobago has experienced intimate partner violence (UN Women Caribbean, 2023). “[…] The late Hazel Brown, one …

We don’t have words for everything. We never will. Such is the nature of language; such is the nature of change. All around us, things evolve, develop new characteristics. Things become extinct, disappear from memory. Someone from as recent as a century ago would find it difficult to follow a …

We live in an odd and unbelievable world. Nothing seems normal, and distinguishing the truth from lies is an increasing challenge. The news is like a five-alarm fire. It rages and feeds on our concerns and fears. How do we escape the information ecosystem that pours like a fire hose, …

Chapter 3: Paid and Paid … This journey has taught me so many lessons—the importance of savings and insurance being two of them. When my mom passed away in 2002, the hardships associated with her illness and her subsequent funeral were evident. I was already employed at the time, and …

Little things add up—sometimes, they can sneak up insidiously so that we don’t see them coming until something happens. It’s not that signs haven’t been there, it’s that they don’t seem important enough for us to take note. Take the recent situation when Dr Joel Teelucksingh, a newspaper columnist, who …

It’s a little bit uncanny that I had wanted to return to discussing trauma, particularly the impact of bullying, before the issue raised itself vehemently in the public space. The story of five years of alleged physical abuse at St Mary’s College suffered by a student, who was expelled when …

Chapter 2 – Lost my Double Ds… Surgery day came faster than I thought it would. In the days leading up, I busied myself preparing for my absence at work—handover, early report preparation, updates, and generally tying up loose ends. In the weeks prior, my doctor had updated us based …

I never forgot the last time that I saw Imran Khan—my former St Mary’s College classmate, not the cricketer. We were on the second floor of the school one morning, and I heard a buzz in the corridor. I looked up to see Imran walking towards me with a blood-stained …

Roughly 16 years ago, I interviewed Dr Dan Ramdath, a professor of Biochemistry at The UWI, about the efficacy of olive oil, given its superstar status as a healthy food. He is currently the director of research and a clinical research scientist (Human Nutrition) at the Guelph Research and Development …