Olympic medallist Kilgour in $$ appeal

IN 1952 he brought fame and glory to Trinidad and Tobago when he earned a weight-lifting bronze medal at the Helsinki Olympics, but now Lennox Kilgour is not happy with the way he is being treated as a former sporting hero by authorities at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital. A close friend of the 75-year-old, speaking to Newsday said: ”Lennox made Trinidad and Tobago proud in 1952 and recently he was treated very badly at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital.”

Kilgour damaged his left instep a couple of weeks ago and was taken to the public facility. After staying there a few days,  his condition allegedly worsened and “he was at the point of no-return” his friend commented. “When I visited him at the hospital he was really in a bad state and it was sad to see because this guy was a former national hero. This in not the way to treat our heroes, they must be recognised and treated with dignity.” With assistance from his close friend, Kilgour was taken to the Seventh Day Adventist Community Hospital where he has received a skin graft on the  injured instep and is now recovering at the Seventh Day Adventist Hospital. According to his friend: “After he fell down and injured his instep, it became  infected as he is diabetic. “Now he is seeing some progress and with God’s help he will be back out and comfortable to move around. At present he cannot walk but hopefully he will be able to move around soon. “The hospital is private where he is staying at the moment and he needs assistance to pay his bills. We got in contact with the WITCO Sports Foundation and they helped us out but we still need funds to pay for the rest of his stay.” Contacted, officials at WITCO confirmed that they had indeed assisted  the ailing hero.  Kilgour lives alone at Powder Magazine, Cocorite, after his home in St James was gutted by fire several years ago,  but friends who visit him regularly.