Fighting through the pain Mom overcomes gallstones to help secure $1-million prize

For 36-year-old Monique Brown-Ramharrack, every painful hour of the inaugural Supligen Big Boost Games’ gruelling 50-hour endurance challenge brought her one step closer to securing dreams.

A $1-million prize meant she could fund her daughter’s education and support her nephew’s career ambitions, so even as health challenges came her way, she stood her ground. Brown-Ramharrack, the leader of Team Phoenix, which included her 19-year-old daughter Tanique Dunn and nephew Rushane Williams, told THE STAR that while the competition tested every team physically, her own health battle made the challenge even tougher.

“I was so tired and I have gallstones, so the first night it start act up. But I couldn’t tell the kids because I know if I said anything to them, they would start fret. So I didn’t say anything and I couldn’t cry,” she said.

Gallstones are hard, pebble-like deposits, usually made of cholesterol or bilirubin, that form in the gallbladder and can range in size from a grain of sand to a golf ball. However, while they do not always cause severe symptoms, Brown-Ramharrack said her attacks are often unbearable.

“Normally I cry, scream, walking up and down, roll on the ground because it causes pain in my stomach. I would have extreme pain to the right ribs and if I eat certain things, I vomit, so I couldn’t eat as much as I should because we’re trying to win,” she said.

With $1 million on the line, the St Mary trio tightened their grip during the Supligen Big Boost Games, which ran for some 50 hours from Thursday, July 9, to Saturday, July 11 with teams having to maintain continuous physical contact with each other and the giant Supligen Cup. So, for Brown-Ramharrack, that meant enduring the competition while battling a painful gallstone flare-up.

“I know they can’t stay up, so I made them sleep and I didn’t sleep for the two nights. I had to hold them together and hold the trophy,” she said. She explained that for much of the challenge, the team held hands while she maintained contact with the cup.

“I had to hold them together and rest my back on the trophy, using my two hands to either hold their foot together or their hands because I can’t hold their clothes, must be body,” she said with a laugh.

She told THE STAR that whenever the pain became almost unbearable, her mind was set on the reasons she entered the competition.

“I know Tanique want to go the college and I can’t come up with the money to attend, so I said ‘Father God, please let me win this’, and then my nephew want to join the JDF. I know you have to buy things and have money during camp, so I said I will hold this trophy as long as possible so they can get an opportunity to live their dreams,” she said.

For Dunn, the victory brings her one step closer to pursuing agricultural science studies overseas. But she admitted there were several moments when they thought their dream would slip away.

“We almost got eliminated four times and we had to push through. The sun was a different type a challenge. We had to use the water to get the towels wet, and at one point when my mother was holding on to the trophy, I had to use the towel to wipe down her hands. Even now her hands are stripping,” she said.

Williams on the other hand said he welcomed the physical demands of the competition, viewing them as preparation for his dream of becoming a soldier.

“I used to do track at Annotto Bay High School, so mi use to sun, and then I know I want to enter the force as an officer. So this is building the endurance and experience. So I know what is what. We slept on the ground and for me it was comfortable, ye man it was alright,” he said.

As the hours passed, the trio said conversations about family, dreams and winning strategies kept them motivated. But once they realised they would walk away as champions, the fatigue was gone and the only feeling was simply gratitude.