'A True Example That With Determination, Anything Is Possible'
Dave Lindo, Gleaner Writer
MANDEVILLE, Manchester:
WILFORD WILSON has had major setbacks in life, but through it all, he has shown tremendous determination in fulfilling his long-time dream of being an artist.
Wilson, without a doubt, has put to the test the adage 'Whatever the mind conceives can be achieved'.
He was born in Race Track, Clarendon, but moved to Porus, Manchester, from a very young age.
While attending Holmwood Technical High School, he developed an undying love for art.
"At Holmwood, I realised that I had the talent," Wilson said. "There was an artist living in Porus called Andrew Ingram. I admired his work a lot. He taught me how to draw. He marked very hard. I remember he gave me a mark of 30 per cent for a drawing. In a short time I got real good and got 100 per cent for a drawing I did for him."
In 1993, Wilson graduated from Holmwood and got a distinction in his favourite subject, art. In 1999, he joined the Jamaica Fire Brigade and was working at the Mandeville fire station. While still on probation the following year, he had a serious accident while riding a bike.
"I injured my right hand; it was totally paralysed. The doctor said that the brachial plexus nerve was damaged, so I lost the total use of it," Wilson explained. "I suffered a lot because I was right-handed. I got help, including from my job, to go overseas to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami where I did a 15-hour surgery."
After one year and six months, Wilson went back to his job where he did "light work".
"My main concern was if I would ever be able to draw again," Wilson said. "The first time I held a pencil after the accident, my hand was just trembling. I didn't give up. I took my pencil and started to write. I started to hold the pencil firmly. If you saw my first portrait after, you would laugh. It was terrible. I am a true example that with determination, anything is possible."
He added: "Shortly after going back to work, I did a portrait of an officer, Sergeant Martin. My co-workers were so surprised at how good it was that they lifted me in the air."
Burning passion
Wilson resigned his job in 2009 to pursue his dream. As he explained: "I passed the exam to be a lance corporal, but I resigned because I wanted to be an artist. There is a passion growing inside of me and I wanted more time to do that."
He currently spends a lot of time doing portraits of people. Wilson also drives a taxi from Porus to Mandeville to help him take care of his wife Schaline and son Anthony.
"You can do anything in life that you want to do. I lost my right hand, but I made the best with my left hand," he said.
rural@gleanerjm.com
PHOTOS BY DAVE LINDO