St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN)—As the nation awaits an official update on the health of Prime Minister Hon. Dr Terence Drew, opposition leader Hon. Mark Brantley is urging citizens to keep politics out of the situation.
Dr Drew was flown overseas for specialist care after falling ill over the weekend. While the government has not officially confirmed his diagnosis or the exact location, media outlets in Martinique, including France Info, reported that the Prime Minister was admitted to an intensive care unit on the island, suffering from what has been described as a stroke.
According to those reports, rapid treatment stabilised his condition with no lasting damage expected, and he has since been transferred to the Baptist Hospital in Miami for further evaluation.
“And so this news, I think, devastated many of us who looked on and thought to ourselves that for somebody that young to have succumbed to some illness and therefore needed attention abroad, that was a matter that clearly would have elicited even in the ordinary circumstances grave attention from us as a people. The fact that it has happened to a sitting Prime Minister is obviously also of tremendous concern. The recent reports that I’m getting are that Prime Minister Drew is safely overseas where he is receiving the attention that he needs, and I urge all of us to pray for his speedy recovery and his full recovery. I think sometimes, ladies and gentlemen, we take for granted the pressures of this political life and this public life. It is incredibly, incredibly difficult.”
Speaking on his on-demand programme, Premier Brantley extended his best wishes for a full recovery, pointing out that the public often underestimates the intense pressure and mental toll that comes with public office.
“We recognise that the demands are huge, that people are constantly making demands on those of us who hold office, that we have the cut and thrust of politics, we have the vitriol which unfortunately attends some of the politics, we have the enhanced scrutiny of our lives, privacy goes out the window, our families sometimes come under attack. It is a difficult, difficult undertaking. Those of us who are called to public service must therefore be committed to it and to understand that it comes with tremendous pressure and tremendous difficulty. I don’t want members of the public to take these things lightly because we all of us may have in some way contributed to our Prime Minister falling ill simply because of the pressures that no doubt he’s under. It, therefore, I think, is a reminder to all of us in public life; in fact, it’s a reminder to all of us as we walk this twisty, windy and sometimes treacherous road called life that we should take time for ourselves and try to take care of ourselves as well. Someone once said to me that no matter how generous you think you are, it is impossible for any of us to pour from an empty cup. If you are giving all of you and not seeking to take care of you, you will get to a point when there is none of you left either to give to others or for yourself.”
He acknowledged that privacy disappears in public life but stressed that leaders must take time to rest and recharge, and naturally we have to find that balance.
“Sometimes the best thing you can do for others whom you serve is to take a moment to take care of yourself, to take care of your health, to take care of your mental state, to take care of where you are because you cannot pour from an empty cup and I think that’s a valuable lesson for all of us whether we’re in public life or not. Prime Minister Drew has had some difficulties. While we don’t have details those have not been released publicly, we know, of course, it has been serious enough that he is overseas. The prayers and the well wishes have come from across the region, indeed from across the world. I myself have received numerous calls from colleagues across the region expressing their outpouring of goodwill towards our Prime Minister as leader of His Majesty’s Opposition and Her Majesty’s Opposition, forgive me and as Premier of Nevis. I too have issued a formal statement, and I have, in my capacity, been in steady contact with people who are in the Prime Minister’s government and around the Prime Minister. The last that I heard just this evening is that he was resting and that things were looking favourable for him. I will use that language. My simple request of our people this evening is to pray for the Prime Minister’s speedy recovery.”
While WINNFM cannot independently verify whether Dr Drew suffered a stroke or confirm his current presence in Miami, his overseas medical travel has sparked local debate regarding the state of health care in the federation.
Bradley is calling for an end to the political vitriol, reminding the country that a health crisis can happen to anyone at any time.
“We have prayer warriors along the length and breadth of St Kitts and Nevis. Those who have bent and bruised their knees and gone before God occasion after occasion to ask for our salvation, to ask for our well-being. I ask you to pray for the safe and speedy recovery of our prime minister. Sometimes we get caught up in the politics, and sadly there’s a tremendous level of vitriol that attends our political culture in this country. I have time and time again said to our people that we must raise the bar, but unfortunately and especially as I’ve looked at some of the commentary on social media and elsewhere, some seem incapable of raising the bar. I say to our people that we should all remind ourselves that before Terence Drew was Prime Minister, he was human. He was a father, a husband, a son, a brother. Before any of us enters political life and public life, we are first human, and we have not lost our humanity because we have elected to serve the people of our country. Let us, particularly at this time of illness for Prime Minister Drew, remember his humanity, remember his family, remember those around him, his loved ones. Let us not be so political and vitriolic in our politics that we lose sight of the fact that sickness awaits all of us. Difficulties await all of us. It is part and parcel of the human condition.”
