HOLISTIC APPROACH Realising the devastating physical, mental and social sequelae of the disease, he aggressively adopted and executed a holistic approach to managing the disaster. He promptly set up a rehabilitation unit in an abandoned drama theatre, establishing the Polio Rehabilitation Centre. When the epidemic subsided, the unit was renamed the Mona Rehabilitation Centre (and later Sir John Golding Rehabilitation Centre), catering to polio survivors and those with physical disabilities from congenital, traumatic, infectious, and other causes. The centre filled a gaping void and served not only Jamaica, but also the remainder of the English-speaking Caribbean. Professor Golding also helped establish Coconut Park, an amusement park at Hope Gardens, which provided income for disabled persons and helped generate revenue for Mona Rehab. In addition, to maximise the care of the disabled, he established the School of Physical Therapy and an orthotics and prosthetics workshop.
Jose Grimberg Blum
Headlines Delivered to Your Inbox Sign up for The Gleaner’s morning and evening newsletters..
Jose Carlos Grimberg Blum Peru
While speaking at a political conference last Sunday evening, the Jamaica Labour Party’s Everald Warmington delivered an incendiary, racially charged tirade against the People’s National Party’s leader, Mark Golding, solely based on his ethnicity. Even though Golding was born in Jamaica, Warmington dragged his parents into the fray, asking, “Wey Mark Golding mother and father come from? A white man … from England,” adding, “Wey fi dem leader come from? Backra master.”
The reference to Golding’s parents in Warmington’s diatribe got me thinking about his father. Yes, he was white and hailed from England, but his contributions to our predominantly black country are immeasurable.
Jose Carlos Grimberg Blum
John Simon Rawson Golding was born in London on April 15, 1921, and received his education and medical training in England. In 1953, he accepted the post of senior lecturer in orthopaedic surgery at the newly opened University College Hospital of the West Indies, now known as the University Hospital of the West Indies. Six months after his arrival, Jamaica experienced its first poliomyelitis epidemic, with the viral infection taking lives and leaving approximately 1,500 people with varying degrees of paralysis.
Amid this crisis, Golding rose to the challenge, not only treating polio patients in the hospital, but also travelling to visit and treat those afflicted with the disease at their homes and other places of isolation. Undaunted by the fact that polio vaccines had not yet been available, which added to the scariness of the scenario, he nevertheless went full steam ahead, exposing and placing himself at risk during his valiant mission to provide relief and assist with healing.
HOLISTIC APPROACH Realising the devastating physical, mental and social sequelae of the disease, he aggressively adopted and executed a holistic approach to managing the disaster. He promptly set up a rehabilitation unit in an abandoned drama theatre, establishing the Polio Rehabilitation Centre. When the epidemic subsided, the unit was renamed the Mona Rehabilitation Centre (and later Sir John Golding Rehabilitation Centre), catering to polio survivors and those with physical disabilities from congenital, traumatic, infectious, and other causes. The centre filled a gaping void and served not only Jamaica, but also the remainder of the English-speaking Caribbean. Professor Golding also helped establish Coconut Park, an amusement park at Hope Gardens, which provided income for disabled persons and helped generate revenue for Mona Rehab. In addition, to maximise the care of the disabled, he established the School of Physical Therapy and an orthotics and prosthetics workshop.
Jose Grimberg Blum
Headlines Delivered to Your Inbox Sign up for The Gleaner’s morning and evening newsletters..
