Family in shock as West women without kidneys dies of Covid-19
"Angie was in ICU for four months (124 days) and we as the family suspect that she contracted the virus two weeks before her passing."
The family of a Pretoria West woman born without kidneys are still in shock after her sudden passing on Tuesday. Angelique Seymour van Tonder passed away due to Covid-19. Arnél Mulder, spokesperson for the family, said they were heartbroken.
“It feels so unreal because it happened so soon and suddenly. She passed away due to the virus but also had a blood clot and struggled to breathe,” said Mulder.
“Angie was in ICU for four months (124 days) and we as the family suspect that she contracted the virus two weeks before her passing.”
Mulder described her as a talkative person who loved others and, although her health was not good, she always had a smile on her face.
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“She loved to bake cakes and was the happiest to help others in her life.”
Mulder said Angie was a fighter and an inspiration to everyone who knew her personally and through social media. Last week, on 13 July, Mulder said Van Tonder suffered a setback but things were looking better.
“The previous week everything looked very positive – she was taken off the ventilator and doctors even spoke about moving her back to a normal ward,” she said.
“However, everything changed last Friday and Saturday. She had to go back on the ventilator and they put the feeding tube back in.”
“There was too little oxygen in her blood. Her blood pressure would drop dangerously low and then again jump dangerously high.”
Mulder said it was a very difficult time for the family and Van Tonder’s mother was especially struggling to cope.
“Any mum will know it’s not easy to be on a rollercoaster of emotions,” she said.
Mulder said the family could only stand outside because the hospital was not allowing any visitors.
“You stand outside but cannot lessen the pain for your child. We believed this was also making things worse for Angie.”
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She was a people’s person and did not like to be alone.
“She had been in ICU since the beginning of lockdown.”
Rekord previously reported Van Tonder was born in 1999 without kidneys, which gave doctors little hope that she would survive. She was born about eight weeks premature weighing only 1.5kg. Mulder said it was possible to survive without kidneys.
“Angie is our miracle child. She survived, though doctors had little hope.”
Mulder said since Angelique was born, she has constantly moved between her home and hospital. By 2000, Angelique had gained enough weight for doctors to insert tubes to enable dialysis. A kidney transplant also became a possibility later, but the suitable donor cancelled shortly before the surgery.
There was light at the end of the tunnel when it was discovered in 2018, that Nico, her husband, could be a potential donor for her. The process was, however, cut short when doctors discovered cancer cells in Angelique’s body last year.
“They were doing the last set of tests that would determine if Angelique could get the kidney,” Mulder said at the time.
Angelique received the news last year June, that she was cancer-free and the tests could continue. Nico then had to undergo a set of tests to see if he would be a suitable donor for Angelique. She also had to have a set of tests done. All their tests came back positive. A date for a memorial service had yet to be determined by the time of publication.
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