The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

A RELATIVE of an Andros woman who died from COVID-19 last week, yesterday recalled the family’s frantic efforts to save her life.

Shonell Rolle-Russell, 46, a mother-of-four, was one of four victims whose death was added to the nation’s COVID-19 death toll on September 1.

In its September 1 dashboard, the Ministry of Health had reported that four people, including three New Providence residents and one Andros resident, had died from the disease between August 27 and August 30.

Yesterday, family members confirmed the identity of Andros native and deaconess Mrs Rolle-Russell as that island’s victim.

Her sister, Judith Rolle told The Tribune that family members are still in disbelief over her death. She described her sister as a caring, soft-hearted and loving person.

 She said it was just some two weeks ago when they received the news about her COVID-19 diagnosis.

 “She said she started feeling bad that Thursday (August 19) and so Friday she went to the doctor and that’s when we had the harsh reality of what it really is because they swabbed her and everything,” she said.

 Shortly afterwards, Mrs Rolle-Russell’s health started to deteriorate, at which point local doctors recommended she be airlifted to New Providence for further medical care.

 However, Ms Rolle said the family was not able to evacuate her sister until days later due to lack of available beds for COVID patients in Nassau at the time.

 “We just used whatever resources we had to make sure she was comfortable with them having no beds in the hospital and no beds to accommodate her,” said Ms Rolle. “Because she was here (in Andros) for three days before she left and when they had a bed available late Saturday night, the doctor said they were going to send her out Sunday morning which they did because her sugar level was so high.

 “And when they sent her to Nassau, her oxygen level was dropping really, really low because even my oldest sister after we sent her to Nassau, we even sent a speedboat over there to bring my dad’s old (oxygen) tank over but…that tank only lasts one day and we sent two tanks because she was running out of oxygen very, very fast.”

 Despite their efforts, Mrs Rolle-Russell died five days after being evacuated.

 Her sister said she believed fear and anxiety caused her sibling’s symptoms to worsen.

 “From Sunday, when we sent her to Nassau she was talking,” Ms Rolle recalled. “I spoke to her after two o’clock because she left around nine (in the) morning and I called her and I said ‘sis I checking on you’ and knowing us we’re claustrophobic. We don’t like to be closed in and them putting her in a bubble after they sent an ambulance, all of that I believe played a major role in her deterioration.”

 Ms Rolle said when she spoke with her sister on the Sunday before her death, she was short of breath, so she told her to get some rest and that she would check on her later. She said later that night her lung collapsed and she was put on a ventilator.

 “. . .She was in that state until Thursday.  And then some time Thursday, her heart had stopped, but they revived her and they said they gave her until 24 or 48 hours and if it happens again there’s nothing they could do…but she died Friday evening,” Ms Rolle added.

 Ms Rolle said she believed if Andros had sufficient medical resources or even if her sister had been fully vaccinated, she could have survived the disease.

 “I feel like if she had it she probably wouldn’t have made it to the hospital, not dead. She probably would’ve been sick and pulled through,” she said.

 According to data released from the Ministry of Health yesterday, 412 people have now died from the virus to date, with 29 deaths still under investigation.

 In addition to Mrs Rolle-Russell’s death, the latest deceased victims include a 62-year-old woman from New Providence who died August 28, a 39-year-old New Providence man who died August 29 and an 83-year-old woman who died August 30.

 Health officials also recorded 116 new COVID cases on September 1, 104 of which are in New Providence, four each in Grand Bahama and Eleuthera, three in Exuma and one in Abaco.

 The latest figures have pushed the nation’s overall COVID tally to 18,567. However, only 3,220 cases are still active, with 167 patients in hospital sick with the virus.