A suburban woman recently returned home from Jamaica following a vacation that turned into a fight for her life.
Trinette Britt, the chief of staff for the Rich Township supervisor Calvin Jordan, became stranded in the island nation following Hurricane Melissa and was unable to access life-saving medication.
“I’m in an ambulance, and their checking my blood pressure, and my pressure was about 217 over 100 and something,” she recalled. “Anybody normal would either be having a stroke or in a coma.”
Britt underwent a successful kidney transplant in March 2024, and her vacation to Jamaica marked her first flight since the surgery.
But when Hurricane Melissa struck, she was unable to leave, and her transplant medications were in short supply.
Cook County Commissioner Kisha McCaskill, who represents the Fifth District, tapped into her resources and rallied other leaders to help bring Britt home. She even made a plea to President Donald Trump.
“This is about community, about standing up for your fellow man,” McCaskill said. “And just thinking if you were in that person’s shoes, would you not want people to make these same efforts for you, your loved ones.”
Current and former elected officials worked with the U.S. State Department to find a doctor in Jamaica, who drove 300 miles to get the medicine.
“The fact that she was without her meds for over 24 hours, the one time I had a chance to speak to her, it was clear to me she was slipping,” said Jack Lynch, a former senior executive with Gift of Hope, a nonprofit organization that provides organ and tissue donation services.
Britt returned home Saturday night and expressed complete gratitude.
She credited her faith – and those who stood behind her – for a happy ending.
“My whole life has changed,” she stated. “This has changed me.”