Centurion family torn as virus claims son and dad, two more in hospital
Gerhard Labuschagne, AfriForum neighbourhood watch member, is recovering from Covid-19 in hospital. Brother and dad tragically passed away last week Thursday and Friday.
Within days, a family in Centurion lost two loved ones and was praying for the recovery of two more admitted to hospital with Covid-19.
Hester Labuschagne lost her son Riaan (43) on Thursday last week and only a day later her husband Gerhard (69) passed away due to the virus.
Hester told in a broken voice that her eldest son Gerhard (Jr) was still in hospital with Covid-19 as well as Riaan’s wife Olivia.
“This virus is unpredictable. It claims anyone at any time and we have no control over who goes and who stays,” Hester said.
Her remaining son Gerhard, a member of AfriForum’s neighbourhood watch in Centurion, had been in a critical condition for the past few days, “but was now recovering well”.
“Under the circumstances, he is doing better. He was moved to the step-down unit of the hospital and is receiving speech therapy as the virus had seriously affected his speech and mobility.”
After Riaan’s death last week, his wife Olivia became very ill and was also recovering in hospital.
Olivia’s 17-year-old son Christiaan was now living with his grandma Hester.
“Muelmed and Midstream hospitals and staff has really been so good to us. I know they had done everything in their power to save my son and husband and continue to care for Gerhard and Olivia.”
Hester said she and her husband got the Covid-19 vaccine on June 11 before their family became ill.
“We would have gone for our second shot together next week,” Hester said sadly.
Hester said she had only mild symptoms of the virus and had almost fully recovered.
Prayers and condolences with Hester and her family were shared on social media.
* Notice: Coronavirus reporting at Caxton Local Media aims to combat fake news
Dear reader,
As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online.
Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed.
Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19.
Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za).
Do you have more information about the story?
Please send us an email to editorial@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.
For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites: Rekord East
For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram
