Even as social media “mischief makers” posted messages about his death to his Facebook page, historian Angelo Bissessarsingh thanked fans and supporters for their care and consideration during his illness.
In an interview with the T&T Guardian yesterday, Bissessarsingh expressed his gratitude to those who had shown support to him.
“I want to say thank you... I feel very appreciative,” he said.
He is warded at the San Fernando Teaching Hospital in stable but serious condition battling pneumonia.
Bissessarsingh, 34, who was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer in 2015, has been warded for a week now. He is being given antibiotics intravenously and also administered oxygen to help him breathe.
His doctors continue to advise fans to stay away as visitors are limited to only immediate family.
His aunt Patricia Bissessarsingh said the family’s appeal for blood donations had received a few responses yesterday.
She said donors gave four units but Angelo’s frequent blood transfusions would deplete the supply in no time. She said he received three transfusions since Friday as doctors say his platelet level is too low to beat the virus.
She also dismissed the social media rumours about Angelo being dead as mischief and said it was one reason the family was trying to keep his condition private.
Angelo’s books, Walking with the Ancestors — The Historic Cemeteries of Trinidad, published in 2013; Snapshots of the History of Trinidad and Tobago, Virtual Glimpses into the Past and Pancho's Dilemma, all published in 2016, have earned him many accolades.
He was given the keys to San Fernando by former mayor Kazim Hosein (now Local Government Minister) earlier this year and the Hummingbird Medal - Gold during this year’s Independence Day awards.