Govt gives $25,000*
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/20160127/news/govt-gives-25000
THE Office of the Prime Minister has contributed $25,000 towards the medical expenses of 14-year-old former chess champion Della-Marie Walcott.
Walcott, who spent almost a month at St Clair Medical Centre’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and underwent two surgeries, has accumulated a medical bill of more than $600,000.
The Office of the Prime Minister is now making an appeal to “other corporate and private citizens” to contribute.
Anyone willing to assist in Walcott’s medical bills can make a deposit to the Republic Bank Ltd account number 180801224831, in the name of Friends of Della-Marie Walcott.
Della-Marie Walcott died on Sunday
T&T Guardian Reports.Former national and 2013 CARIFTA junior chess champion Della-Marie Walcott passed away on Sunday after being in a coma since January 2016. She was 19.
The former student of St Joseph Convent, Port-of-Spain, at age 14, had surgery to remove a brain tumour but never recovered.
Walcott in her short but successful career represented T&T at both the regional and international levels.
She won gold and silver medals at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games and Carifte youth Championships from 2010-2019.
Walcott, who was nominated for the First Citizens Sports Foundation Youth Awards in 2011 and 2013, was part of the national women's team that competed at the respective World Chess Olympiad in Turkey in 2012 and Norway in 2014.
Walcott was diagnosed and had a tumour removed from her brain on December 22, 2015. The tumour was later tested and found to be benign (not cancerous).
The area of the brain affected was very small and her recovery required a secondary procedure. After this procedure was conducted, she slipped into a coma and was in that condition until she passed away.
Della-Marie Walcott - Former National Chess champion
