Noel Lochan smiled shyly with happiness as Health Minister John Rahael visited him at the San Fernando General Hospital yesterday and promised to give him a job in the health sector.
By Yvonne WebbLochan was admitted to the hospital on Rahael?s instructions in April for treatment of the boils which had covered his body.
Rahael told the young man, ?As soon as you are fully recovered and strong enough, I have a position waiting for you in the health sector.?
Lochan, who worked at a poultry depot, had become a prisoner in his home because of the inflamed boils which had covered his body before the Guardian highlighted his plight on April 22.
He quit his job and his parents Cheryl and Lionel kept him indoors, covered under a sheet, because he had become the target of cruel jokes.
Rahael who read of Lochan?s plight in the Guardian, ordered that the 19-year-old be taken to the hospital by ambulance and treated.
Doctors say Lochan suffers from a rare skin cancer, but tests are yet to be concluded abroad to verify their diagnosis.
In the meantime, the majority of the ugly boils were surgically removed, leaving equally ugly but less painful scars.
Lochan, who was scheduled to be discharged from the hospital yesterday, has to have one final operation in two weeks.
While recuperating in hospital he has made himself useful by helping out around the wards.
Rahael also said that in September, a group of doctors from Houston, Texas, specialising in cosmetic and plastic surgery, would be in Trinidad and he would have them look at Lochan to remove the scars.
The minister also promised to ensure that Lochan?s siblings, who would be attending school for the first time in September, remained in school.
Lochan thanked Rahael for his offer and his help to have the boils removed.
He also told reporters who accompanied Rahael on his visit, ?I am very happy for the position. I feel fine.?
