92-year-old Ton van Doorn from Heiloo is one of them. He and his family visited the West Frisian Flora in 1997. He actually more or less accidentally walked past the hot tub that was ultimately the source of the legionella bacteria. The bath was filled with water from a fire hose that had not been used for some time. The exhibitor had also not put chlorine in the water.
“I had won a bottle of wine and that was the reason I walked to the hall with the hot tubs,” Ton tells NH. “I stood there for a while and watched, but I didn’t get sick at first. I thought I was lucky, but after a few days I suddenly became deathly ill.”
Ton ended up being in the hospital for over a week and had to fight for his life. For him, the commemoration in Bovenkarspel is an obligation: “I could have been one of them.”
Watch Ton van Doorn’s entire story below: