Zanelle Kriel writes:
“A must read for a non-believer. This is not to frighten you but if I can save one life by my mother’s story, I know she did not die in vain. This is to inform anyone that seems to think Corona Virus is a gimmick, a political act or a “big media house” scheme. I will not tell this story because I want attention, sympathy or hating against anyone but to open your eyes.
What does a person who got infected with the “ghost” virus COVID-19 go through with their family until they lay down their heads forever? I will tell you from the eyes of someone who lost to COVID-19.”
“I, Zanelle Kriel, am guilty of being ignorant to this virus. I believed that people make a fuss about nothing. I was one of the people who believed the government was making such a big deal to scare us and making us part of the WHO and NOW plans. I was one of those people who laughed about the jokes of lockdown and about the virus. I have lost THE most important person in my life before I realized, THIS VIRUS EXISTS AND IT WORKS FAST.
” Zanelle says that they realized that their mother Hester Kriel was sick with a cold for about two weeks prior her death.
“We realized my mother was sick with a cold for about two weeks prior to her death, but we did not think it was a serious illness because she said she feels sick but not sick enough to see a doctor. She also started to feel better because she did use medication.”
On Monday 4 January she felt so good that we went for a 3km walk, she walked for about 6 months because she decided to change her bad habits to live a healthy life and lose weight (in this time she lost 20kgs). This night I pulled a joke on her, even though she was very angry with me about it.”
On the 5th my sister and I went to decorate her class and get ready for the school year, she is a grade 3 teacher, so we came home late after that. That night when we got home my mom had a setback. She could not eat and did not even have the strength to hold a plate of food. This worried us. She went to sleep and when I went to sleep my father was still awake in their room, I told him night and something inside me said I should wake my mother and tell her I love her, which I did.”
“On 6th I just woke up and first went to my dad in the kitchen to ask how my mom is and he said her condition was unchanged. I ran to her room because I wanted to beg her to go to doctor but it was too late. She could only try to gesture with her eyes, she did not come to speak, sit up straight, stand or walk or react any further. We measured her temperature and overnight it was a fever of 40.8 °C, I believe by now everyone knows normal is 36.5 ° C. We started calling the family and my one cousin said we should take her blood sugar level right away as he is in the medical field. Her blood sugar was 17.1, for those who do not know, normal is 5. My mother was a high level diabetic and because of this she had to inject 2 different insulin 2 times a day. We injected her and after an hour the blood sugar remained high unchanged. She also had active thyroid problems, high blood pressure and cholesterol. Eventually the ambulance stopped here, I was never in my life so happy to see one. We were able to get her in to the care of specialists. At home, the pare medic measured my mom’s oxygen level, was 34%, where normally should be between 95 and 100. This means there was no space for oxygen in her lungs. At the hospital, no one was allowed to physically be with my mom because of precautions and the amount of COVID-19 cases streaming in in. My dad waited in the waiting room, in this time two people died of this decease. They had my mother on oxygen forcing it in to her lungs but the mask irritated my disoriented mom and she tried to take it of which made her oxygen levels drop again. They asked my dad if my mom smokes, which she did not. Later they showed her x-rays to my dad and it was completely white, the whiter it is the sicker you are they explained to her. We waited until about 22:00 that night to find out she had tested COVID-19 Bronchi Positive, this already means you are critically ill. They literally searched for a bed in ICU since she got there and NOWHERE in the Vaal triangle could they find a bed for her in ICU. All the hospitals are over capacity. After someone died in the hospital she was at in the emergency room, they were able to place her in the ICU at 23:00. My dad came home at around 23:45.I cannot stress this enough.
THERE ARE NO BEDS!”
“On 7th we called the hospital in the morning to hear how was mum doing and the sister on duty said she looked better and calmer, she was lying and peeking at her while talking on the phone. She said mom is very critical and they had to double oxygen but she looks better. About an hour, ONLY AN HOUR, after we called, the hospital called us and told us to come in IMMEDIATELY. They were not allowed to say on the phone what was wrong. Arrived there and we were immediately dressed in the necessary equipment. In front of the ICU door she stopped and the doctor came out of his consulting room.
There they say it, the words no man or child ever wants to hear. Mom just stopped breathing all of a sudden, they tried to resuscitate her for half an hour, but she was already gone. The sister told us she just walked out of the room after my dad called and stopped by the door to save my dad’s number so Dad could send Mom a voice note and the sister would play it for her. When she returned to the room, Mom’s alarm went off. After they told us we and we were calm enough we could at least go and say goodbye. That afternoon we were tested because we were too hysterical to do it then and after that we waited for our results. Do, you know how scared we were, thinking if someone else would also die?”
On the 8th their test results were sent back and it was the dreadful truth was confirmed, Zanelle, her father Danie and her sister Schadre are positive too.
“My sister is currently asymptomatic but has high infection score. My dad has mild symptoms and has a high infection score. I have mild symptoms but with a lower infection score. On 09th we found out my uncle, who lives with my grandmother, was also tested positive. Later that day my grandmother’s positive results also came back. They are luckily also asymptomatic. Do you know how bad it is to mourn on your own without having a final goodbye? We may not hold funerals until we are healthy. We may not take final goodbye. We cannot take a last day of mourning. Until everyone is healthy and the rules of the government allow us.
“I would never again think this is a joke or think jokes about this is funny. You take me, my family and all other families who lost people due to this virus, PERSONALLY, in the face. The reality is, we do not know how, where or who got infected first. With this new variant it does not ask who you are, where you are, what age you are or when you want to go.
It just takes. My plead to you is to wear your mask, sanitize, drink your vitamins and STAY AT HOME as much as you can. If you are ill, go to the doctor in TIME. Do not wait and wonder if it, it could be. That’s the silent killer. Just start following the rules before you also stare losing a man, a woman, a child, a brother, a sister, an uncle, an aunt, a niece, a nephew, a grandmother, a grandfather, a friend or a girlfriend in the face.”
