Death Came Too Quickly: May He Rest From All His Efforts
Shock, Horror And Disbelief Were All We Could Express
On Thursday, 1 Nov 2018, we got a frantic call from my sister that her husband had been rushed to hospital. He had collapsed in the driveway of their home.
At her insistence, we didn't travel to her immediately. In the morning I felt it absolutely necessary to visit her as soon as we were able to.
So my mother and I made the 70km trip to her home to be with her.
We then found out that her husband had carried a broken chair that he was going to repair about 300metres from an office around the corner from their home, to their home. The one part of the chair had been left outside the fence and the other, further up the driveway in the property.
A neighbour over the road was the first to notice that my sister's husband was lying on the pavement/sidewalk in their driveway. He thought it very odd and walked over to where he was and couldn't find a pulse. The medics were called and they rushed to revive him and my sister was called to come. She was so shock and horrified and in disbelief of what had just transpired. By the time she arrived on the scene the medics were busy with CPR and shock treatment to get his heart going again and wouldn't let her near him. Finally the ambulance came and they whisked him off to the hospital, but they wouldn't allow her to travel in the ambulance with him.
My sister was so distraught at this point she didn't know what had happened and all the evidence didn't add up. She was as puzzled as any of us were.
Friday afternoon my sister visited him in hospital and they still gave her the run around telling her it was a heartattack. But still wouldn't let her see him and she had to wait 20 minutes for the doctor to appear and he wasn't much helpful either. They only allowed her to visit with him for 2 minutes. They had restrained him and heavily sedated him and was breathing by machine.
It was all too much for us to bear and I wasn't satisfied with the way they had treated my sister, so I phoned the hospital and firmly requested why they were treating her this way. Eventually I was put through to nurse who finally found a doctor who was willing to talk to me. What a difference this made, I handed the phone to my sister and the doctor explained to her that it was not a heart attack by a sub haematoma - bledding under the surface of the brain (all you medical people will know if I got the name right or not...) ... and the best way she could describe it would be a type of stroke.
We were a lot happier now that we knew what was really wrong and so we believed they would be able to handle transferring him to ICU - Intensive Care Unit.
My sister had also given them a form giving permission for certain procedures to be administered if necessary and she had put her phone number on that form too.
We all retired Friday evening and Saturday morning my sister believed she should phone the hospital as visiting hours were only from 3-4pm and 7-8pm. She was hoping for good news, but it was the worst news, he had passed away at 7:05am that morning and they were trying to get hold of her the whole night but didn't have a number for her! ? !
We are all shocked that this has happened so quickly, it is horrible and sometimes it's hard to believe people in the medical profession can suddenly lose such a vital and important document.
So many questions and very few answers.
May her husband rest in peace from all his efforts.
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My condolences to all your family especially your sister. May her husband rest in peace, and after all the fiasco, may your sister live in peace.
That is what we pray too. Peace is what we all need right now. Thank you for your kind words.
So sorry to hear this sad news. Two of my close family members passed earlier this year, so I know grief is hard to bear. Please accept my sympathy and may his soul rest in peace.
My condoleances to you, your sister and your family, so sad that they neglected to keep your sister informed and to call her.
Dank u wel Loes.
I appreciate your kind care and concern. Yes, I'm quite peeved that they chose this way to deal with human beings in dire need.
I'm so very sorry for your sister's and your family's heartache and pain. What a horrible experience. I was taught that we will see them again after we pass away, but it's still so heart breaking and hard. The grieving process takes a lot of time. I hope your sister and your family can find closure.
Yes, we are hoping to do that when we have to make arrangements for the body tomorrow. Being the weekend, we were told that the mortuary is not open again until Monday!
It is even harder as my niece is overseas and she took if quite hard. She is a caregiver and won't be able to come out until Nov 14. But we were able to Whatsapp on Video and I think that helped her to ease the pain. She could at least see us.
Such a sad story. Sorry for your loss. You and your family are all in my thoughts and prayers.
Justin
Thank you for your kind and wise words Tiffany! I believe He will vindicate us and provide the peace and closure we need.
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This is so sad to hear. As someone who works in the medical profession, I’m so dishearented to hear how your sister was treated :(. I’m really sorry for your sisters and my thoughts and prayers are with you, her and the family.
Stephanie
Thank you Stephanie. Your heartfelt sympathy goes a long way. Thank you for caring. Much appreciated.