Demry Rankine stirs in his sleep and shuffles slightly as if he is dreaming, as if he might open his eyes at any moment. His wife, Carla, reaches out to hold his hand.
“Wake up baby,” she whispers, “It’s time to wake up now.”
His favourite reggae music plays from a small speaker on the window sill. A knitted tam keeps his distinctive long dreadlocks from spilling out across the pillows. On the bedside table, there is a well-thumbed family Bible – the same one he carried in his rucksack when he was struck by a vehicle in a hit-and-run incident during Easter week.
This small hospital room has been his home for almost four months since that time and Carla has done her best to make it as bright and comfortable as possible. But she hopes it will not be his home for much longer.
The 36-year-old father of four, sometimes known as ‘the Rasta’, has been in a coma since the accident.
In the days before the crash, he was doing what he loved best – camping on the beach with his family, catching fish in his kayak and cooking up the spoils to share with the other holidaymakers.
Rankine was knocked off his bicycle as he cycled near Smith Cove on 25 April by a driver who fled the scene.
He was later found lying unconscious in the road and rushed to hospital where he was placed in a coma and diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury. At first, doctors gave him no hope of surviving the crash.
But now he is breathing on his own and is showing signs of response to touch and sound. He is ready to be flown overseas for the advanced care that doctors hope could help his recovery.
Faith and positivity
It has been a harrowing few months for Carla, who is out of work and raising their 11-year-old son while visiting her husband every day at the hospital, talking to him and telling him stories of their lives.
“I try to keep it positive and believe that through hope and faith in God, he will come back to us,” she says.
Already she has been given reason to believe in miracles. Demry was not supposed to be alive right now.
“From day one, they had told me he is not going to make it, but now they see that he is fighting and they are going to send him overseas,” she says.
“He can open his eyes or blink and grab your hand.”
As a Caymanian, Demry’s cost of care is covered by CINICO.
But his wife is a Jamaican national and though the couple have been married for 13 years, the insurance doesn’t cover her to travel with him. The vehicle insurance company of the driver has claimed that the policy was invalidated because the individual had lied on their application form. So there is no avenue there to help cover some of Carla’s mounting expenses.
In the aftermath of the crash, the driver was apprehended and arrested and the Compass understands they remain on police bail as inquiries continue.
Carla was between jobs at the time of the accident and her new role has been delayed because of paperwork. Meanwhile, she has to cover rent and bills and keep food on the table for her child while visiting her husband each day.
During those visits she tries to keep things positive.
She fills him in on the moments he has missed. The couple had planned to buy matching outfits for their son’s graduation from primary school in June. A trip to visit family in Nicaragua and Jamaica over the summer has also been postponed. Now she is preparing for their son’s first day of high school – another moment the family had expected to celebrate together.
In her darker moments, she wonders what they did to attract this kind of misfortune.
“He is the most friendly, warm person – someone who only brings positive energy to the world. I don’t know how this could happen,” she says.
But as she holds his chin in her hands and notes a flicker of response in his eyelids, she gives thanks for how far he has come, and a prayer for how much further he has to go.
“In my heart, I know he is a strong person and I know he is going to make it.”
For today, at least, she is hopeful.
ARK has taken up the family’s cause and is asking for donations to cover some of the expenses. Donations can be made through ARK’s website with the hashtag #chef to indicate the donation is for the Rankine family.