Lucy and Paul Knight are still grieving the loss of their mother-in-law, Olive, who died in April 2020 at the age of 91. But their grief has been compounded by the knowledge that Olive's death was falsely attributed to COVID-19.
Olive had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease for several years, and her health had been declining. In December 2019, she was admitted to Good Hope Hospital for dehydration. After a few days of fluids, she improved and was able to return to her care home.
However, in February 2020, the care home stopped allowing visitors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Olive's condition deteriorated, and she was readmitted to Good Hope Hospital on April 8, 2020.
The Knight family was told that they could each visit Olive for 20 minutes, but that they should expect the worst. When they arrived at the hospital, they found Olive on a geriatric ward. She was not on fluids, but she was receiving oxygen.
Paul was allowed to remain with Olive for the rest of her time in the hospital. She died on April 10, 2020, a month before her 92nd birthday.
The Knight family was told that Olive's death was due to kidney failure and pneumonia. However, when they pre-registered her death, they were told that the first cause of death was COVID-19. Lucy emailed the hospital to this effect but never got a response.
Paul's siblings accepted this cause of death without question, but they had a different perspective regarding COVID-19 and the pandemic.
Olive's funeral was conducted with 7 family members and a celebrant. The crematorium staff turned a blind eye to breaking the then six people rule. Her grandchildren had to stand at the gates.
The Knight family is convinced that Olive did not have COVID-19. They believe that the hospital falsely attributed her death to the virus in order to manipulate statistics. "We are heartbroken that our mother-in-law's death has been used in this way," said Lucy Knight and it has most certainly woken us up to the democide and fraud of the past years.
The Knight family's story is a reminder of the importance of transparency and accountability in the healthcare system. When families are denied access to their loved ones, it is easy for mistakes to be made. In this case, the Knight family believes that their mother-in-law's death was falsely attributed to COVID-19 in order to manipulate statistics.
The Knight family's story is also a reminder of the importance of fighting for the truth. When families are told that their loved ones have died from COVID-19, they should not hesitate to ask questions. They should demand to see the medical records and to speak to the doctors who treated their loved ones.
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