Durban – Three weeks after the death of Queensburgh diver Ronald Reece, his mother has spoken of her anguish at claims that her son was denied immediate treatment at a Durban hospital.
Maria Reece, 59, an inventory clerk in Randburg, said she took the first flight to Durban when she was told of her son’s diving incident.
“Getting to Durban was the easy part. Once at King Edward Hospital I had to wait more than 20 minutes before I could see my son. I waited longer at the hospital than I did at the airport for my flight.”
She said hospital staff had told her that Ronald was “brain-dead”.
“They wanted to take him off the ventilator,”she said.
“They started pumping him with adrenaline to try and get his heart going. But it did not work … he died just a few hours later,” said an emotional Reece.
She had last seen Ronald at 9pm on June 8. “The hospital contacted me at 1am the next day (on June 9) and said Ronald had not made it.”
She said her grandson was trying to understand what had happened to his father.
“He’s very young so it’s hard for us to explain it to him.” The child now lives in Pretoria with Ronald’s ex-wife.
“Knowing that I won’t see him (Ronald) again… it’s just not easy to get over.”
She said she was considering her legal options to help get the answers she needs and closure to her son’s death…
Diver dies as hospital squabbles
South Africa Today – South Africa News
