This is a true story.
Two sisters from the Philippines went to Kuwait for work. Both are in their 40s. They have dreams for their family so they worked hard in their respective jobs to obtain their goals and support their children in the Philippines. One of the two sisters already got the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine which is Pfizer while the other one did not. Unfortunately, one of them died because of COVID-19. Who died? The one who got vaccinated? Or the one who missed the vaccine?
Ria is the eldest of two sisters. She is 47-years old while Gemma Lynn is 40 years old. They are known with their friends as the Talaro sisters.
Ria was the one who first went to Kuwait to work as a domestic helper in 1995. After years of working in the Gulf country, she found another job – a sales clerk. Eager to help her sister, Ria brought her to Kuwait in 2009 so she can find a good-paying job. They are both supporting their families in the Philippines, the reason why they are working really hard in a foreign land.
According to Ria, she loves her sister so much and considers her as the ‘extended version’ of her life.
“We see each other daily, but we never missed saying ‘I love you’ each day. When she is out somewhere I talked to her through video-call until she comes back, making sure that she will come home safe.” Ria added.
But in June, both sisters suffered from COVID-19 while sharing the same room in a flat. But Ria was able to get her first dose of Pfizer vaccine last May12 thanks to her employer. Gemma Lyn didn’t get the vaccine.
Ria stated how tough they felt when the virus started to take over their body.
Image from Kuwait Times
“We both experienced the flu and fever at the same time,” Ria said. “We suspected it might be just a simple seasonal flu, so we both took the steaming rituals (locally known in the Philippines as tuob, inhaling steam). But the steam did little to help and the next day, both felt worse so they took a taxi and went to the local government clinic. There they saw a doctor and received only Panadol and were told to go home and rest. But the sisters felt scared so they went to a private clinic to get a swab test and then went back home.”
After the results went out, they confirmed their hunch. They were COVID-19 positives. They took a taxi and went to the Mubarak Hospital.
“I told my sister we better stay in the hospital since both of us are asthmatic,” Ria said. “I was scared although I got my vaccine because the company arranged it for us.”
Ria was really scared knowing that she contracted the disease because she has an underlying illness such as enlargement of the heart and high blood pressure.
“I am taking medicine for that regularly. So I told Gemma Lynn, since we know that we are COVID positive, we better stay in the hospital. So we went as normal patients and we told the doctor about the positive result of the test,” says Ria. But instead of getting admitted, the doctor who checked them decided to let them go back to their flat and rest, isolate themselves from the rest of the people.
But the fever of Ria got worst instead of subsiding. They decided to return to the hospital to seek medical attention. But despite the high fever of Ria, they were instructed to return to their home, which they did. When they returned home, the fever of Ria subsided but Gemma Lyn’s fever got worse. She even started to have difficulty breathing. For the third time, they went back to the hospital but Gemma Lynn was the only one who got admitted as her symptoms are much worse than Ria’s.
Ria was forced to leave her sister in the hospital and returned to her apartment. “I went home at nearly 1am. My sister called on her mobile phone and informed me she will be admitted in the emergency room. The last word I heard was that she will not get the access to the phone and in case of any questions she had given my number to her doctor. That night she told me to take a rest. I was thinking she would be discharged the following day, but she was not discharged,” Ria recalled.
The following day, Gemma Lynn called and said that she was transferred to the COVID-19 ward and finally feels better. Ria was sure that Gemma Lynn’s condition is improving.
But on June 19, tragic news was heard. Gemma Lynn’s health started to deteriorate. “She said she felt very tired and sick and she could hardly breathe and they were moving her to the ICU,” says Ria, who even heard her sister gasping to breathe.
On June 27, Ria received a call from the hospital saying that Gemma Lynn is now ready to return home.
“On June 27 I got a call from the hospital that my sister was ready to go home, so I was happy going back to the hospital but the happiness turned into sadness when I heard the real news about my sister,” says Ria.
According to Ria, when she arrived at the Mubarak Hospital, she was given the discharge form and the doctor said to her that Gemma Lynn already expired because of COVID-19.
“I was stunned and could not believe it. I was thinking maybe it was just a nightmare. I said my sister is alive and she spoke with me only a day ago. But she was pronounced dead. I just cried and cried,” Ria said.
Ria was only given five minutes to bid her final goodbye to her sister. Everything went so fast and Ria still couldn’t believe that she will never see her sister again.
Gemma Lynn has three children in the Philippines. The eldest is 20 years old, next is 18 and 16 years old.
“I feel that I owe her everything, especially in raising my only son. I left him with her when he was only few months old because I accepted the job offer as a domestic helper to Kuwait in 1995,” says Ria.
She promised Gemma Lynn that she will help look after her children all her life.
Source Kuwait Times
