Trinidad: Movie Towne owner Derek Chin flies cancer patient Krissa Bissoon home
(Trinidad Express) She calls it a miracle and he felt “divine intervention” was at work.
Young cancer-stricken mom Krissa Bissoon cried tears of joy when businessman Derek Chin, himself sick in Miami, offered her a ride home from the Bahamas.
The young mother from Arima, who touched local soil on Monday evening, said yesterday she may never find the right words to thank her sudden benefactor, who was able to stop in the Bahamas on the way from Miami and bring her home.
The young mother had appealed for help finding a way back after being stranded in the Bahamas, where she had gone as an expatriate with a construction firm this February.
The much-anticipated new beginning didn’t pan out and, thereafter, Bissoon was diagnosed with cervical cancer and lost her job.
Last week, she received a letter from her doctors warning of her condition, her need for immediate treatment and that any delays in reaching Trinidad where she could access treatment could lead to an untimely death.
On top of that, she was working with dwindling funds in an expensive foreign land and alone, as the T&T borders closed on March 22, one day after Bissoon had a biopsy that left her weak, bleeding and in hospital.
From there, hope also dwindled as commercial airlines remained closed and while she had been granted an exemption to re-enter T&T, Bissoon was in no position to afford a chartered flight that would bring her directly home.
She had turned to the T&T media for exposure and was on Monday “extremely touched by and grateful to the many persons who offered their assistance and resources”.
The 34-year-old quantity surveyor believes what happened last week was “a miracle”.
Her story began as a straightforward cry for help but took a wild turn last Thursday, when she was contacted by Chin’s lawyer, Hayden Gadsby, and given some unbelievable news
Chin had been in Miami, also seeking medical treatment, and had applied for an exemption to return to T&T, which must be processed and granted by Minister of National Security Stuart Young. The businessman had been aware that if his application through his lawyer was approved, he would have to charter a private flight to T&T.