Mother Of Teenager Who Died Of Coronavirus In Paris Tells Her Story

2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15

A mother broke the silence after the death of her 16-year-old daughter in Paris after contracting the coronavirus. While experts have indicated that children and teens are less likely to become seriously ill after contracting Covid-19, this mother - identified as Sabine - shared her pain after the loss of Julie, who apparently was an exception to this rule. "It is unbearable," she said of experiencing the tragedy of losing a child.

As reported by the AFP agency, Julie's symptoms started mild, with an apparently benign cough. "I just had a cough," said the heartbroken mother, who tried to improve her with syrup and inhalations. The teenager - who was in good health - later noticed that she had difficulty breathing. "Not much, she was having trouble catching her breath," recalls her mother, who took her to the doctor after noticing her coughing fits.

After reviewing it, his doctor called the emergency medical services and the firefighters arrived with protective suits, masks and gloves. "It looked like the fourth dimension," says the mother. Her daughter Julie was taken to the nearest hospital, in Longjumeau.

At the hospital they did several studies and found "pulmonary opacities". They also tested him for the Covid-19. The mother says that at night they transferred Julie, who had respiratory failure, to the Necker Children's Hospital in Paris, where she was admitted to intensive care and they did two other Covid-19 tests.

When he saw his daughter, he noticed her anxious. "My heart hurts," Julie confessed. The results of the two tests of Covid-19 that were done in the children's hospital were negative, which reassured the mother. "We open the door to the room, the nurses no longer wear a gown, the doctor raises his thumb to tell me it's a good sign," says Sabine.

Although she thought that her daughter was already out of danger, that night she received a call from the doctor telling her that the first test for a coronavirus that Julie had at the Longjumeau hospital was positive. The doctor also warned her that the teenager had worsened and had to be intubated. "We couldn't believe it. You think: They were wrong. And why are these results so late?" Sabine said. "From the beginning they tell us that the virus does not affect young people. We believed it, like everyone else," added Manon, Julie's older sister.

(Photo by THIBAULT SAVARY / AFP via Getty Images)

The family received another heartbreaking call, asking them to go to the hospital urgently. "At the time, I panicked," recalls Sabine. The hospital's general health director told her that her daughter suffered from a severe form of the virus, something "extremely rare" among young people. "In an hour," recalls Sabine, "she was already gray."

When they arrived at the hospital with Manon, their oldest daughter, Julie was already dead and they explained to both of them that they would never see her again. Due to the strict security protocol for the pandemic, they could not collect Julie's personal items, since they had to be burned, they only recovered a chain from her christening and a bracelet.

The teenager's body will be kept in the Necker Hospital mortuary room until her burial. Only ten people can go to the cemetery. "We had to choose among family members who will be present," said Manon. Neither will they be able to make up or dress Julie since her coffin will remain closed. According to AFP reports, to date there have been 1698 deaths and almost 30,000 infected with Covid-19 in hospitals in France. May Julie rest in peace.