I’Akobi was ill but ‘not depressed’
I’AKOBI MALONEY “shafted” his job for health reasons, the former Barbados Exhibition winner’s mother told a Coroner’s Inquest yesterday.
And according to Marguerita Maloney, her son, though being ill two weeks before his death, was not depressed, and had even suggested he would start on a career in the “arts”, through rhythm poetry and chanting, after giving up his employment with the Awarak Cement Plant.
Maloney, who testified her son always had “sinus problems”, said he informed her he would resign before the job caused his death from constant inhalation of cement dust.
She said I’Akobi was even prescribed with an asthmatic inhaler, but refused to fill that prescription, saying he would prefer to give up his job as a trainee engineer. “My son was not depressed,” she told the court. “My son did everything to preserve his life.”
She noted that along with suffering from acid reflux and back problems which cost him two weeks’ sick leave, Maloney was also seeing a podiatrist for calluses on his feet, and could hardly walk or run properly.
The mother said I’Akobi’s future plans were to convalesce and heal, then begin another career. “He was very interested in expressing himself in the arts,” she told the court.
The witness said that after her son resigned, he called her, and told her he felt fine, and was ready to move on with his life. “He said, Mums, I feel good,” she told the court.
According to her, I’Akobi told her during that phone call he would go to the “cove” in St Lucy to meditate and have some peace and quiet. “He was a very spiritual child. He loved tranquil places. That’s how he managed to excel,” Maloney testified. (BA)
Tags: acid reflux, Arawak Cement Plant, asthmatic inhaler, back problems, calluses, Coroner, health, inquest, Marguerita Maloney, podiatrist, resignation, sinus problems