By Daisy CL Mandap
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| Glyza was two months shy of turning 29 when she passed on |
Just five days after moving in with her employer on
Jan. 18, 28-year-old Glyza Marie Singco started shouting in her sleep. Her
employer, Mrs Tong, tried to wake her up but Glyza failed to respond so they
called an ambulance.
On the way to Princess Margaret Hospital she started
to twitch, still unconscious. She passed away 11 days later, never regaining
consciousness, and her doctors baffled as to the cause.
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
According to her employer, the Covid test done on her
yielded a negative result but an X-ray of her lungs was “not clear and (was) all white in
color.”
Glyza arrived in Hong Kong on Jan 15 but spent the first three days with her agency. She moved into her employer’s house in Kwai Chung three days later.
On Jan 20 she told her relatives her young ward had
tested positive for Covid after they went together to the child’s tutorial
school.
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They now wonder whether she had unknowingly caught the
virus at the same time or afterwards, but did not immediately show symptoms.
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| Glyza enjoying her first-and last-holiday, one day before being rushed to hospital |
On Jan. 22, a Sunday and the eve of the Lunar New
Year, her kindly employer allowed her to take the day off. Glyza happily went
to visit several places with a friend, and posted several pictures of them on
Facebook, obviously enjoying the cold weather outdoors.
Her family and friends were thus shocked to hear of her
falling so seriously ill the very next day.
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| Pindutin para sa detalye |
Glyza, who is single and has a degree in education, was said to have been in good health when she left her hometown in Cotabato in the southern Philippines
A
cousin, Melissa, said the deceased did not have any significant medical
condition, and did not definitely have epilepsy, which could have explained her
twitching.
But when their family was contacted via a video call
at the hospital, Melissa said the doctors told them Glyza’s body could no
longer handle the spasms that had been wracking her body. They were shown a
photo of her attached to various monitors in her hospital bed, no longer responsive.
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
Melissa said all that their family wants now is to get
the result of the autopsy on Glyza’s remains as soon as possible, so that they
will know what had caused her to pass on at such a young age, and with no known
ailment.
Informed of this request, Consul Paul Saret of the
assistance to nationals section of the Consulate said he’d look into Glyza’s
records tomorrow, and contact her next of kin as to what could be done to ease
their concerns.
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According to health protocols in Hong Kong, the result of an autopsy could take time, even long after the remains of a deceased had been repatriated. But a medical certificate that could indicate the initial findings as to the cause of death could help allay the bereaved family's apprehensions.
The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration has
already been informed about the death, and has informed Glyza’s relatives that
they can follow up the benefits due to her mother as her next-of-kin.
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
Under Hong Kong laws, the employer, through her
insurer, is obliged to pay for repatriating Glyza’s remains. Her mother stands
to receive the Php100,000 death benefit and Php20,000 burial benefit from OWWA.
On top of this, she should get the US$10,000 payout
from the mandatory insurance that Glyza had to take before leaving the
Philippines for her first deployment as an overseas Filipino worker.
But for now, all that the grieving family could do is wait for Glyza's final journey home while they wonder what could have caused her to pass on, just as she was starting a new chapter in her life.
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| PADALA NA! |
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