A Highway man, who was preparing to wed his best friend and high school sweetheart a week before Christmas, is now planning a memorial for all three members of a Queensburgh family who died of Covid-19 within days of each other.
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For Sheldon Hendrikse, 2021 was supposed to be the year he and his new bride, Zoe Freshwater, began their life as husband and wife.
Instead, as the first week of the year unfolds, his time is spent making arrangements for a memorial service as he mourns for the family he planned to join with his.
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All dead in less than a week
Zoe, 26, and her parents, Angela, 52, and Greg, 63, died on 26, 29 and 23 December respectively.
Zoe died just three days after her father succumbed to the illness which has killed almost 30 000 South Africans and over 1.8 million people worldwide since it was first discovered in 2019.
Greg died on 23 December in St Augustine’s Hospital where he had been admitted, following Angela who was hospitalised before him. Meanwhile, Zoe had to be hospitalised at a Westville hospital after developing complications from the same deadly virus.
Zoe died on boxing day while her mother died on 29 December.
Nuptials cancelled
Sheldon’s brother, Werner Gresse announced in a Facebook post that his future sister-in-law, who had always been “generally healthy”, tested positive for the Covid-19 virus on the Wednesday, three days before what was supposed to be her wedding day.
“As soon as we got the results on 16 December we cancelled the wedding and had planned to postpone it until January or February this year,” said Werner Hendrikse, Sheldon’s father.
After Zoe and her parents had died, Sheldon’s dad re-shared Gresse’s post adding a warning for people to take Covid-19 seriously.
Saying goodbye
He said the memory of him and his son leaving the hospital in Westville and saying goodbye to Zoe continues to haunt him.
“She so desperately needed a hug and she was pleading with us not to leave her there alone,” he said on Saturday, 2 January. “I don’t think I will ever get that image out of my mind.”
Hendrikse said he hoped recounting the story, as difficult as it is to speak about, would serve to help save lives.
“I think most important is that everyone must be aware of how deadly it can be. That is the legacy we want to honour. This story must save lives,” he said.
Intubation
Speaking to the Queensburgh News on Saturday evening, Sheldon said his final look at the woman he loved was of her waving to him and bravely smiling as she was wheeled into casualty.
“While I was travelling home I got a call from the hospital for permission to intubate her as she wasn’t able to manage on the oxygen alone,” said Sheldon who had spent the whole day driving from one hospital to the next to get his finacée medical attention.
Intubation is the process of inserting an endotracheal tube (ET), through the mouth and then into the airway to allow patients to breathe when they cannot do so on their own.
“She went straight into the Covid ICU, but had been turned away at two other hospitals that same day,” he said. “If her story helps save even just one life, then at least she wouldn’t have died in vain.”
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Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting
