A family’s fateful ordeal with Covid

The Eliasov family visited the tree of remembrance trail on Great North Road to tie a ribbon in memory of Barney Eliasov, who succumbed to Covid-19 complications.

Barney’s daughter-in-law, Shereen, and her husband, Alex, shared their story with the City Times in hopes to bring awareness of how dangerous the virus is.

Alex, who was born in Benoni and is a former Boksburg resident, was the first to experience symptoms in January.

“We moved to Bredell during Christmas time last year,” Shereen, a former Benonian, said.

“When the pandemic hit we were very serious about it, only visiting immediate family and sanitising. Only Alex would go to the shops and when he came back he would change out of everything and we would wash it immediately. We sprayed and sanitised all groceries, and Alex was working from home.

“Alex started feeling ill while we were moving and by January 2 he started feeling worse.”

At the time, Alex was suffering from very mild symptoms, so they monitored his symptoms as it could have been due to the dust from moving that was affecting his sinus.

“But then his health deteriorated quickly,” she said.

“On January 3 he started getting chills, it was a warm day but he stayed in bed with a tracksuit on. We discussed he would go have the test, but by Tuesday our 10-month-old baby, Noah started feeling ill and by the evening he battled to breathe so we rushed him to Netcare Linmed Hospital’s emergency room where they did some tests and took X-rays of his chest and lungs.”

At first, the doctors thought it was bronchial pneumonia and they wanted to admit him.

“With Covid protocols being in place, I had to have the rapid test done,” Shereen explained.

“Noah came back positive and I came back negative, which baffled the doctors as I am the mother and close to him. Yet I had no symptoms at the time. We were then moved to isolation.”

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Family tested positive

On January 6 the couple’s daughter, Caylin, (11 at the time), Alex’s mother, father and sister got tested and on January 8 they got the results that they were all positive.

Shereen also started experiencing symptoms on January 6.

“Noah was discharged on January 9 and on January 11, I got tested but had to be retested as the first time there wasn’t enough saliva on the swab.”

She was retested on January 12 and also received the results that she was positive.

Alex’s battle with the virus

At this point, Alex was suffering laboured breathing and started to cough up phlegm mixed with blood.

“We called the ambulance and the tested states showed his oxygen levels at 32%,” she said.

“The doctors believe if he had not gone, he would have gone into respiratory failure and he would have died.

“It was shocking and devastating and I am just glad we made the call for him to go. He arrived at the Netcare Linmed Hospital emergency room where they ran some tests and placed him on a drip.

“He was oxygen-dependent and admitted into ICU and wasn’t able to have his cellphone, so I would have to phone the hospital to find out how he was doing.”

When speaking to the nurse, Shereen was told the doctors decided to incubate and place Alex on a ventilator and feeding tube.

“Up until this point he was so healthy, no diabetes, cholesterol or regular tests, so it was an absolute shock. He is one of the healthiest people I know. He is my husband and this is happening to us, it’s a nightmare. I can’t even begin to explain it,” she said.

During this time, Shereen stayed in contact with her in-laws, who were also ill, to provide regular feedback on Alex.

Barney’s battle with the virus

On January 16, Shereen’s mother-in-law called the ambulance to transport Barney to the hospital as he began to have the same symptoms as Alex.

“I can’t imagine how hard it must have been for him to fight this virus while his son is fighting for his life as well.

It was just so devastating – two people we love so much. We all tried to be so careful, to limit contact with everything and anything, and still, we contracted the virus,” Shereen explained.

In the early hours on January 17, Barney died.

“He lost his fight against Covid-19,” she said.

“It was honestly so devastating for our family because my husband was fighting for his life meanwhile his dad has just lost his life. I can’t explain how difficult this time of our lives was.”

Alex’s journey to recovery

On January 20, they took Alex off the ventilator seven days later. They still had him incubated as a precaution.

“They also took him off sedation and I was told he was very confused,” Shereen said.

“They placed him on a high volume oxygen machine and on January 21 he started speaking again but was still confused, which I was told was normal. The nurses could tell him I called, which was a great feeling, he asked about the children and me.”

By January 24, Alex was communicating properly but still hadn’t been told about his father.

“He wanted his Bible as we are Christians,” she said.

“Four days later his stats were improving and improvement meant everything.

“On January 27 they moved him out of ICU to the casual medical ward. I received a phone call from him in the evening. To hear his voice was such a blessing, better than winning the Lotto. I didn’t expect it but it was such a relief, after the loss we had, and almost losing him, it was so amazing to hear his voice.”

At this time, Alex was requesting his cellphone, but Shereen did not want him to find out about his dad over the phone.

“The hospital allowed special visitation so that I could tell him his dad had passed away. It was mixed emotions for me because it was great to see him after three weeks, but the reason for my visit was heartbreaking,” she said.

“I had to tell him his dad had died from Covid, the same thing he had just beaten.”

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In memory of Barney

“He was a wonderful father-in-law, a phenomenal grandfather, the type of person who would take the food off his plate and give it to you if you were hungry, most importantly his father loved the Lord. Our faith is what has kept us going through all this heartache and pain,” Shereen said.

The funeral for Barney was held after Alex was discharged and took place at the Crystal Park Baptist Church.

“It’s just so devastating, this loss is really painful,” she said.

Advice from the Eliasov family

“Even though my husband was discharged on February 2, he had to have oxygen at home for almost a month,” Shereen explained.

“Suffering from Covid for a long time is a reality. He lost almost 18kg during his three weeks in hospital. We all suffer from brain fog and short-term memory problems. The children are thankfully fine.

“Alex stills battles quite a bit.

“People need to understand how real and painful Covid is. We were so cautious and we still got it.

“People are still not caring, don’t social distance or wear masks. They think it’s a conspiracy and blown out of proportion but it’s not, even people who walked the walk with me are still not adhering to the rules. It took me months not to be anxious to go to a shop because I was scared to get it again and some people just don’t care.

“We are going into the second year of Covid and people are still ignorant, people are losing their lives and loved ones. It’s just so hurtful and frustrating when you hear people say ‘but the recovery rate is so high’. What does this mean for those who have lost someone special?

“To everyone out there, please if you don’t care about yourself that’s your problem. All I am saying is, love thy neighbour, you might not get gravely ill but the person you are in contact with might get it from you and not survive.

“Everyone needs to pull together and do what you are supposed to do.”

About the tree trail

With the permission of the Ekurhuleni metro, Debbie dos Reis, Verena Metzer, Michelle Bester and Vanessa Fourie from ‘the Guardians’, as they are known in Benoni, decided that the town needed a grieving and remembrance tree trail.

This is not only to raise awareness about Covid-19 but also how many have died because of the pandemic.

Anyone is welcome to place a ribbon around a tree alongside Great North Road between Kei and Mercury streets.

Those who need assistance to place their ribbon may contact Debbie on 071 161 1168, Verena 083 379 4002, Michelle 072 191 0146 or Vanessa 083 462 9768.