Support floods in for Antoine family
Overwhelming support and love shown by friends, family and strangers is aiding Jacques Antoine in dealing with the death of his wife and elder son.
Jacques (42) and his younger son, Kaiden (12), survived a head-on motor vehicle crash just outside Rustenburg, on December 11.
Cheryl (41) – whom Jacques had dated since the age of 17 and called his soul mate – and Jarrett (15) died on the day of the accident.
The family were en route to Jacques’ Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) work function when they were involved in a crash, about 2km from Rustenburg.
Speaking from his home in the Ebotse Golf and Country Estate on January 21, Jacques said he is taking every day as it comes.
“It’s tough to deal with, but sometimes, unfortunately, life deals you these cards and you have to move forward,” he said.
He is now picking up the pieces of his life.
He was discharged from hospital in early January, and will take three to four months to recover from his injuries.
The father has undergone two operations; one to remove a part of his damaged intestine and one to drain fluid from his lungs.
He also sustained fractured ribs and a fractured sternum.
Kaiden fractured a vertebrae and is wearing a back brace.
He has returned to class at Rynfield Primary School, where he is in Grade Seven.
Jacques and Kaiden’s journey to recovery has been made a lot smoother by a flood of continuous support.
“It’s something that touches your heart; to see the amount of love that is in the world – from complete strangers,” said Jacques.
“The goodwill that is out there is phenomenal, absolutely phenomenal.”
Jacques father, Tony, was at a loss for words.
“I have never seen love, empathy and help come in from so many unknown people – it is unbelievable,” Tony said.
The father and son said the overwhelming support started at the scene of the accident.
Fellow motorists who witnessed the head-on collision, Tania and her husband Chris Phillips, rendered assistance at the scene by calling authorities, comforting the injured and gathering all their belongings.
The father and son extended their thanks to Jacques’ employer, ACSA, the staff and management of Rynfield Primary School and St Dunstan’s College – where Jarrett was a Grade Eight Pupil, hospital staff and one of Cheryl’s many friends, Farrarmere resident Deidri Jones, who has assisted by taking Kaiden home after school to help him with homework.
Jones’s son, Dylan, is school friends with Kaiden.
The family have also received a flood of support from residents and management at Ebotse Golf and Country Estate.
Jacques said all the love and good deeds have helped in his healing.
“What that does from a healing perspective, is it creates a lot of love and comfort, and a lot and comfort and reassurance from everybody else really puts your mind at ease and really just helps in terms of the recovery,” he said.
“There are a lot of people out there who really care and what really took me aback is that there were a lot of strangers [who showed support].”
Jacques said he will honour Cheryl and Jarrett’s legacy by keeping them in his memories and raising Kaiden the way his wife and Jarrett would have wanted.
Cheryl and Jarrett’s memorial service was held at the Northfield Methodist Church on January 6.
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