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A WEDDING AND A FUNERAL FOOD POISONING TURNS A COUPLES JOY TO TRAGEDY on 2nd January 2011, 9:32 am
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A year ago when Venecia Williams and Lucas Vall got married in Japan there was little fanfare; as the couple simply went to a registrar's department and signed the document which legally sealed their nuptials.
There was no lovely wedding dress, beautifully decorated cake or adoring family members to make the day memorable.
However Williams, a 30-year-old Jamaican who lectures at a Japanese university, and Vall, a 31-year-old consultant from Argentina, took comfort in the knowledge that as soon as time permitted, they would have their special wedding reception on a beach in sunny Jamaica with as many of their friends and family helping them to create memories.
The wedding colours were chosen, the dress bought and the guests invited to share in the happy couple's bliss on December 26.
The guest list included Vall's parents and four close friends from Argentina who would be visiting Jamaica for the very first time.
The wedding colours were chosen, the dress bought and the guests invited to share in the happy couple's bliss on December 26.
The guest list included Vall's parents and four close friends from Argentina who would be visiting Jamaica for the very first time.
The beach venue in Ocho Rios was booked and paid for, the decorations were ready and for the first time Vall's was to see his wife in the wedding dress she had bought just for the reception.
"My mother (Dawnette Walker) and I have been planning this reception for some time," said Williams, when she sat down on Thursday evening in an exclusive interview with the Sunday Observer.
"Getting married in Japan is no big deal as people just go to sign the papers, so we wanted to do this here," Vall interjected.
Having the reception in Jamaica, they said, would also have provided the perfect opportunity for both sets of parents to meet each other.
But four days before what was to be one of the most memorable days in the couple's life, tragedy knocked on their doors, robbing them once again of the opportunity to have the wedding reception of their dreams.
On December 22, some of the 11 wedding party guests who were staying at a villa in St Mary journeyed to Ocho Rios, where they saw frozen Basa fish in a supermarket. Vall's parents, remembering how tasty it was when they bought and cooked it during a recent trip to Panama, had no objections to it being prepared for their evening meal.
Aldo Malaspina, described as a "great cook", opted to prepare what was to have been a sumptuous meal for the group. But within ten minutes of having the meal of fish and potato salad, he was dead, Vall's mother unconscious and several others in the group were being rushed to hospital with food poisoning symptoms.
The couple explained that the group had just about finished dinner when Malaspina said he needed to get some fresh air and went out onto the verandah. Within minutes he was unconscious, but as members of the party rushed him to the nearby St Ann's Bay Hospital, others began falling ill. He was dead before he could receive medical attention.
Vall explained that Malaspina had always wanted to visit Jamaica because of an interesting piece of his family history, which saw his ancestors having been appointed by the Spanish Crown to tour the Americas.
"He always remembered being told that when they came to Jamaica no one wanted to go back on the ship, so he wanted to come and see this place for himself," Lucas told the Sunday Observer.
Vall's parents, Malaspina and his long-time female companion, and another Argentinian couple arrived in Jamaica on December 21, but unfortunately, Malaspina did not get to see much of the land he always dreamt of visiting.
The couple said the incident seemed so surreal.
"My father and I spent a night thinking that Mom was gone because of how sick she was," Vall said, the sadness and strain of the incident still evident in his eyes. His mother, Olga Santino, was airlifted from the St Ann's Bay Hospital to the Cornwall Regional Hospital where she was admitted in intensive care.
"It is so devastating ...how unfortunate and unlucky to have had this happen," he said, adding that they feel especially sad for Malaspina's long-time companion, who had to return home before schedule, as the incident was just too much to handle while being so far from close friends and family.
On Thursday evening, after much encouragement and some assistance from the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) the grief-stricken couple attended a small reception in their honour at the Spanish Court Hotel in Kingston.
Williams, who celebrated her 30th birthday on Wednesday, said that although they wrestled with the decision to have the small gathering of friends and family, they decided at the last minute to go ahead with it to say thanks to the many persons who stood by them during the traumatic incident.
"Having this little event really helped in cheering us up because when I am alone that is when I process stuff and I just tear up," she said.
The Valls their small group of guests, even with the tragedy still casting a pall over the occasion, in an elegantly decorated room at the Spanish Court.
Lucas Vall's mother, who was only released two days prior from intensive care, was still very frail.
The mother, who speaks only Spanish, had still not yet been told that their long-time friend had died, as the couple said they were hoping to break the news to her when she was back in Argentina and was a bit stronger.
Some members of the party have also not yet fully recovered, as Williams says they still suffer from dizzy spells and tiredness.
With a police investigation still ongoing, and the findings of the post-mortem not yet available, the couple said there is still so much speculation as to what caused the horrific incident.
Vall said that given the fish had been imported from Vietnam, it could have become tainted at any point. Another theory which has been bandied about is that the meat preservative saltpetre was mistakenly used instead of salt to prepare the meal.
But Vall dismissed this, saying the small quantity of saltpetre which was used should not have had that effect.
"That can't kill you in five minutes, and the doctors say because of the symptoms it most likely is fish poisoning," he said.
But whatever caused it the couple is cognisant of the fact that the situation could have been worse.
"I got to see 30 and I am so grateful," Williams said, reflecting about the two days she spent in hospital with tubes down her throat.
"At one point the doctors thought my mom wasn't going to come through," said her husband.
They expressed gratitude to the hospital staff and to the JTB .
"Before now I had said I can't have a celebration in light of the situation because I was just so numb, but I am happy Carole Guntley (director general of the JTB) called and say do it," she said.
They, however, decided to limit the guest list to just a few close friends and family and threw out the programme they had planned for the reception.
They said they have also received a lot of help from the Argentinian Embassy, which has since made arrangements for Malaspina's body to be flown home. They also arranged for Malaspina's partner to return home ahead of schedule. The other two Argentinians have since left the island on the original schedule.
