Senior Reporter
sascha.wilson@guardian.co.tt
Holding her baby in her arms after giving birth, Candacy Phillip, the wife of rig worker Pete Phillip, says she cried when the infant was born because her husband was not around to experience the joyous birth of their fifth child.
Candacy’s husband died after the offshore rig he was working on collapsed on December 22, last year, but his body has not yet been recovered from the sea.
She has four other children with Phillip, and he also has another child from a previous relationship.
In a telephone interview with Guardian Media on Wednesday, Candacy said her baby boy Jevon Keith Phillip was doing well. She said she and her other children are still trying to cope without her husband.
Candacy was due to give birth on February 22, which would have been the second-month anniversary of the tragedy, but she requested that they induce labour on the following day because of the pain that day signifies.
On February 23 her bouncing baby boy was born at 2.51 pm at the San Fernando General Hospital. He weighed 2.68 kilogrammes or roughly 6 pounds.
Though the process was very emotional for her, Candacy said she tried to focus on the delivery. “I tried to focus on giving birth and not on all the other things to distract me.”
However, she said, she cried while cuddling the baby.
“I was sitting down with my baby and I shed some tears knowing that his father is not here with us.”
She said officials from Well Services Petroleum Company Ltd, where Phillip was employed, visited her at home and brought baby diapers and several other crucial supplies.
While the company had indicated that it was awaiting the arrival of specialised equipment, estimated to arrive in early March, there has been no update on when efforts to retrieve her husband’s body would resume.
“I am waiting patiently but nothing so far,” she lamented.
In a press statement on February 4, Well Services said that given the high-risk nature of the salvage and recovery operations, it was critical to first stabilise Rig 110 to ensure the safety of all personnel involved and to create a secure foundation for the complex operations.
“Only when the rig is properly stabilised will the recovery efforts proceed in full, with the ultimate goal of ensuring the safety of all involved and achieving the successful recovery of the body of Pete Phillip.”
The company explained that it partnered with an international company to secure the equipment after experts determined local equipment did not meet the necessary standards for the operation.
