Woman’s Heartbreaking Experience Of Losing Her Father To Covid-19 Is A Wake Up Call For Malaysians

She has detailed her full ordeal of losing her father and shared what Malaysians should be aware of.

With Covid-19 case records still soaring daily, many are fighting hard to keep their loved ones safe. Facebook user, Maxy Chan shared a heartbreaking account of losing her father to the deadly virus to urge others to take this pandemic seriously.

Before testing positive

Maxy’s father, Vincent Chan was 68 years old and received his 2nd dose of Sinovac on 22 June 2021. On 5 July, he had a high body temperature and felt tired at night. He also had discomfort at the throat but he assumed that it was just because he ate durians the night before. Maxy’s family insisted that he take the Covid-19 test. The following day, his RTK test was found positive so he took the PCR test right away.

Since Maxy and her parents lived in the same house, she took the RTK test with her mother as they were close contacts. Both results came back negative. However, they were advised to take the PCR test for more accurate results. Unfortunately, it was then revealed that they both tested positive for Covid-19 too.

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During quarantine

On 9 July, her father’s fever resided after he took Panadol. She shared that his SpO2 (Blood Oxygen Level) reading had been normal. However, he had unstoppable hiccups and felt very tired.

Maxy added a word of advice to invest in an oximeter:

“Blood oxygen level is the most important thing. Get an oximeter at home. It’s available in pharmacies. Get a legit one and be aware that there’re fake ones in the market.”

On 10 July, he received his pink band from the Community Centre and Maxy drove him to the appointment. He was also weak, slow and experienced diarrhoea prior to leaving for the appointment.

“To me, he looked like a person who had a stroke.”

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Nonetheless, his body temperature and SpO2 levels were normal but his blood pressure spiked to a count of 180 although he never had high blood pressure prior to this. The frontliners asked her to monitor her father’s SpO2 level at home and told her to immediately send him to the hospital if it is 94 or lower.

Later that day, her father was unusually unresponsive to calls and messages from the family. They waited for a while as they assumed he was still showering. Maxy then decided to check on him soon after and what she saw next shocked her.

She saw him lying naked on the bathroom floor. She explained that he was still conscious with no blood around him.

“He didn’t notice I saw him. I didn’t know how long he had been lying there. I was shocked and went out to calm myself. After a few breaths, I opened the door again.”

She then helped him sit up. However, he slipped as he was heavy. He told her that he felt no strength in his legs. She managed to get him to sit against the wall, and immediately called her siblings and 999.

To keep her father conscious, she asked him questions like,

“I kept talking to make sure he’s conscious. I asked what month it was, how many children he had, I showed him my YouTube video of his favourite song and asked if he remembered where it was taken. He remembered all clearly.”

Maxy measured his SpO2 and it was dangerously low at 90. An hour later, she received a call back from 999 telling her that there were no ambulances available and asked her to send him to the hospital instead.

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Thankfully, her siblings were already there and they drove him to the nearest hospital, the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre emergency department. She also advised the public,

“Check with your insurance agent on the coverage, some providers do cover for Covid, from there you’d know how much budget you have. Bring an extra blanket/ jacket for the patient, because it could be cold at night at the hospital.”

ICU Treatment

The doctor then explained to them that the virus had infected the father’s lungs badly and it had caused the unstoppable hiccups.

Her father then called to say that he was waiting to be admitted to the ICU but would only be given a spot as soon as he gets an available bed. Maxy called other hospitals to inquire if they had any available beds but all their wards were full, including the ICUs.

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Thankfully, one ward opened up in the evening and Maxy’s father called each of his family members as he was not sure if he could wake up after being sedated. On 12 July, he was intubated in the ICU and to their relief, his blood oxygen level increased with ventilation support.

The doctor informed them that he was in early Stage 5 of Covid when admitted into ICU.

“His SpO2 was at 84 with 100% oxygen support. They would prone him every 6 hours, and started giving steroids and anti-clogger.”

The doctors said there was a slight improvement after proning her father. Proning means positioning a patient flat on their stomachs, with their chest and head facing down. This helps with respiratory.

On 15 July, the doctor reduced sedation on him as he could respond by giving hand signals. On 17 July, the father’s condition was unstable as his kidneys shut down. He was on 100% life support.

“We were asked to prepare for the worst.”

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At 6pm that evening, they managed a video call with the help of a nurse. They told him,

“We are waiting for you to come home.”

However, at 8.32pm, Maxy received a call from the ICU saying that her dad passed away.

“And when I called to inform my siblings and mum, I realised how hard it is to bring the news.”

The funeral

The funeral service told Maxy’s family that all their cremation centres were full due to too many death cases recently and arranged for them another funeral service’s help. However, they needed to apply for a permit to travel interstate. The hospital had to put his body outside as the mortuary was full before he was cremated.

“When dad passed away, we were asked by many when and where my dad got the virus. We would have answered if we had the answer. I really hope everyone is staying safe.”

Our deepest condolences go out to Maxy and her family. May his soul rest in peace. We also send our thoughts and prayers to all families facing the same predicament. Let us know in the comment section.