After two years of the corona crisis, L1 looks back with stories from patients and doctors. About Limburgers who were sick, sometimes survived against all odds, and about the doctors who stood by the bedside at the time.
Millie van Gruythuysen (33) from Heerlen ended up in intensive care (ICU) with corona in October 2021, a month after the birth of her daughter Mavis.
Family infected
The very first days with your newborn baby are precious. Millie thoroughly enjoyed it, along with her two other children Kenan (13), Dante (7) and husband Michel. But soon corona settled at home. The whole family became infected, including the very young Mavis. Her mother even became so ill that she had to go on a ventilator in the ICU at the Zuyderland hospital in Heerlen.
Very ill
The new mother was so detached from her family. “I was lying there and everyone was at home with daddy. They were not allowed to visit yet. I felt so lousy.” The time in the hospital was tough. Millie was very sick and could barely breathe. She had to rest. But the mother in her prevailed. “I wanted to call and text continuously. As a mother you have such a big job. To then hand everything over and cut yourself off from them was terrible. I felt powerless.”
Also read: Nearly died twice from corona: ‘I am no longer the same’
miss
The nurses came in every hour to address the mother. Her oxygen levels were alarming, she had to put the phone down. In total she was in the hospital for a week, but the loss of her family made it feel like an eternity. On the very last day of her hospital stay, her family was allowed out of quarantine and therefore to visit mom. Except for the baby, he was not allowed to enter the ward.
Coming home
“When I came home the next day, I still felt lousy. But I immediately picked up that little doll and went to bed with her upstairs. When she looked at me, her look changed. It seemed like she was thinking, ‘Hey, there she is! I haven’t seen that one in a long time!’ She didn’t make a sound before that, but when I got there the noise started. As if she wanted to talk about the whole week. Oh, I really cried. That was so beautiful.”
You can see more stories about two years of corona in Limburg in a special broadcast on Saturday evening 5 March EveningGuests at 6:30 p.m. on L1 TV.