Glenroy Gaymes says thanks

President of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Taekwondo Association Glenroy Gaymes is saying thanks to all those who helped him during his recent illness.{{more}}

Gaymes made this public pronouncement last Tuesday at a Press Conference at Olympic House, called to hand over a cheque valued at US$12,000 from the National Olympic Committee (NOC).

In February of this year, Gaymes, a Forestry Officer, was diagnosed with a medical condition which involved a blood clot and hemorrhaging in his head, which caused him to seek medical attention in Trinidad and Tobago.

Gaymes further told SEARCHLIGHT: “I just want to thank the general public, the staff of the Forestry Division, especially Roslyn Hackshaw, Cornelius Richards, the National Lotteries Authority, the National Olympic Committee, the Stoplight Restaurant, and others who in any way assisted me.”

Gaymes’ medical costs mounted to TT$160,000.

The NOC, through the International Olympic Committee(IOC), donated US$12,000, the National Lotteries Authority EC$4,000, other funds were raised through the efforts and facilitation of the Forestry Division, the Taekwondo Association as well as the general public’s benevolence.

The Forestry Officer of over twenty years, who has been involved in Taekwondo for 23 years, and who required surgery in Trinidad and Tobago, said that during his ordeal, twelve days of his life had been lost and he only knows what has been reconstructed for him.

Gaymes, who sports a distinct bulge on the left side of his head, believes that the operation was successful, and he is on the road to full recovery.

General Secretary of the NOC, Keith Joseph, told last Tuesday’s press conference that with no category in IOC funding for such cases like Gaymes, his organization had to seek assistance through discretionary appeal from the IOC.

Last Tuesday’s press conference also saw the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Football Federation (SVGFF) being the recipient of an EC$10,000 grant from the NOC to assist the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Under-23 Male Football team in its quest to qualify from its group stage in the Olympic Qualifiers next month in Suriname.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines is drawn in a Group with Jamaica, Cayman Islands and host Suriname.

The Road to London campaign also continued last Tuesday, with the announcement of the local leg of the London 2012 Sport and Art Competition, which will run here from September to December.(RT)