Mrs. Mary-Ann McFieldUp Front
Mrs. Mary Ann McField speaksof "A Mother's Grief"
Mrs. Mary-Ann McField
Timothy'Tim Tim" McField (centre, back-row), in happier times withhis teammates of the George Town Sports Club.
Tim, 16, was stabbed to death March 1, outsidethe Xtreme Nightclub at Grand Harbour Shopping Centre in Red Bay.IfMrs. Mary-Ann McField had only one wish today, it would be tosee her son, Timothy McField, starring on a football field, playingfor a famous club, with other popular players supporting him.
But that dream has dissolved to tears, anguishand sorrow, with the killing of Timothy early March. In fact,her dream star has now gone to the "other side", beingburied yesterday in Prospect.
Timothy, affectionately called "TimTim" and "Tim", was stabbed to death, on the dawnof March 1, inside the popular teenage nightclub, Xtreme at GrandHarbour Shopping Centre in Red Bay, in an apparent gang-relatedkilling.
At 16, Tim was better known for his skillson the football field, playing for the George Town Sports Club.In May, when he would have turned 17, he would have been off toLondon, to pursue a football career, trying to perfect his skillsto match that of his role model, Brazilian football star, Ronaldo.
"My son was a football star. And Inever missed a game he played from his days at Primary schoolup to his recent days as a member of the George Town Sports Club.I wanted to see my son become the star he wanted to be. I wantedto go to his games and support him," she reminisced.
This past Monday, her red, swollen eyes,told the tale of a woman in pain. The mood at her home on WatlersRoad (a.k.a. Dog City) was a rather sombre one, as she tried tocome to grips with Tim's gruesome death.
Tim's father, Paul McField, apparently overcomewith grief, declined to comment when Cayman Net News visited hisbusiness place, Paul's Electrical Supply on School House Road.
Mrs. McField vividly remembered, as ifit were yesterday, the effects of the shocking news of Tim's death.She recalled her son, on his weekly visits to her home, (he wasliving with his father for the past two years) bragging abouthis football skills, and what he would do when he became world-renowned.
"It was not an easy news to take,"said Mrs. McField. "I was sleeping at the time when the telephonerang and my daughter got the news that Tim was stabbed and wasadmitted to the George Town Hospital," she told the CaymanNet News.
Mrs. McField said she rushed to the hospitaland after approximately 45 minutes wait, she was told by a doctorthat her son was stabbed several times and his "heart hadstopped."
She recounted: "I screamed, oh my God!His heart had stopped, that means he's dead."
Indeed Tim was dead.
According to Mrs. McField, Tim was always"getting into trouble", for defending his friends.
"He never liked anyone 'troubling'his friends. He always stood up for them. Had it not been forthat attitude, I think he would still be alive today," shesaid.
While she admitted that Tim was not theperfect child, she said she believes that he is not differentfrom the average 16-year-old.
"Of all my kids, he gave the most trouble.But to me he was just a regular child. He only needed guidance.Tim was a very sweet child and he was very polite. But he doesn'ttake foolishness, he was just a very straight person and he didnot deserve to die this way" she said.
She feels, too, that if there were other"positive figures" around Tim, his life would have beendifferent.
Said Mrs. McField:"I am a single mom.Children can't be raised by only one parent. Worse yet, I haveseven of them. Tim needed someone in his life. Even the relevantauthorities have not paid much attention to kids who roam thestreets like Tim."
Tim is the third of her seven children.And, with the pain still raw, Mrs. McField said her big challengeis to help Tim's siblings move on.
"I cannot tell myself that my son hisdead, because I can still feel his presence. However, we haveto move on."
She's also advising other young boys onthe streets, to avoid 'ending up' like Tim.
"I want to tell all the young guyson the street that it doesn't pay to be violent. And, I wouldnever want another parent to experience what I am going through,"she said.