Guyana’s 146th COVID-19 fatality, the 69-year-old Deputy Mayor of Anna Regina spent approximately nine days in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit before succumbing to the virus.
Williams died on Tues-day afternoon after being ill for some weeks. When Stabroek News contacted family members, his son, Fenton Williams, told this publication that his father took ill earlier this month with a mild fever which they initially thought was the common flu.
The younger Williams said that at that time his father was also nursing an injury to his finger after he had accidentally closed a door on his right thumb. “That finger got infected and we thought the finger was what was giving him that mild fever and we took him to the Anna Regina health post a few days after he took ill,” he said while adding that doctors had treated the finger and issued him medication for the injury. However, at that time he was still experiencing the fever.
With that Williams said they made the decision to take their father to one of the leading pharmacies on the Essequibo Coast to have some more tests done and he subsequently tested negative for both dengue fever and typhoid. They were then advised to take him to the hospital and seek a doctor’s advice. The deputy mayor was then taken to the Suddie Regional Hospital even though he was a bit reluctant to go.
“We encouraged him and we went there, when we got there he met with a fever there and right there they isolated him and said that he showed signs of COVID and he was sent into quarantine,” the son recalled, adding that while he was quarantined there on November 12 and was then tested for COVID-19 the following day, at that time he was not experiencing any symptoms other than a fever.
After he was tested for the virus he contacted his family on the Sunday evening when the results were returned and informed them of the results. Williams told Stabroek News that at that time his father started to experience some issues with his breathing and following other tests, it showed that he developed pneumonia and was subsequently placed on oxygen.
He was then transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital’s COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit on Monday. “Dad would have shown some improvements because we would have been in contact with him on a daily basis,” Williams said. He noted that his father would give details and inform them of his oxygen levels and his sugar levels as he was diabetic. Early on during his stay at the ICU, his father was responding well to medication and was also eating.
“So we said you are on the way to recovery and…. We prayed a lot and told him that God is going to pull him through and we thought that he was on the way to recovery,” he related.
Sudden turn
After his father had shown some signs of a recovery, he noticed that one morning his father (who would usually call them around 6am) did not call and they tried calling him but got no answer. When his father finally returned their calls it was around midday and his father reported that on the night of the 20th he had a “hard night” and was unable to talk at that time.
“I asked him what happened and he started to cough and cough and that coughing really irritated his breathing process and his oxygen level fell and the doctors worked with him and got him to be stabilized and he said don’t worry everything will be fine” Williams said.
This continued the following night and his father had reported what he was experiencing at that time. The younger Williams said that despite this, up to Tuesday morning, his father was positive and strong.
Williams detailed that on the morning of the 24th they awaited the call from their father and he had called and asked the family to continue praying for his recovery as he experienced another night of heavy coughs and other symptoms which caused his oxygen levels to drop extremely low.
“The doctor called and said your dad is not doing well and said that nine days in the ICU and he showed some signs of improvements and then he went down” he said. Further, the doctor informed him that his father’s oxygen levels were really low and if they are to keep him on the oxygen he would possibly collapse any time soon.
An emotional Williams explained to this newspaper that the doctor related to him the last resort would be to have him placed on the ventilator to have him stabilised. “I said ‘doc, what are the chances with putting him on that’, she said ‘90 per cent death, 10 per cent life’ [and] when I weighed it, both sides were very slim.” With that he mentioned that he had called all of his brothers and sisters and they along with his mother decided to ask the doctors if they would be able to monitor him a little longer and see if he would be able to recover or feel better during that time.
When they made that request the doctor advised that his father should be placed on the ventilator soon and as such the family later decided to have him placed on the ventilator. “I talked with him and I explained to him what the doctor said to me and he said ‘son whatever decision the family makes I will go with it wholeheartedly,’” Williams emotionally recounted.
A tearful Williams told Stabroek News that they then prayed together and that was the last time he spoke with his father.
A fighter
Williams was then placed on the ventilator earlier in the day and died just around 4:30pm on Tuesday.
The younger Williams said that his sister who is attached to the Georgetown Hospital went to get an update on their father’s condition that afternoon and found out that their father had some complications and was tended to by doctors.
“The doctor spoke to me and said that dad collapsed, his heart collapsed and they tried with him and we lost him,” Williams indicated. However he said that the doctor explained to him that his father was a real fighter and a true man of God as just moments before he was placed on the ventilator he prayed, and even prayed for the doctors and other staff who were going to be handling the process.
Fenton indicated that his father’s death is extremely hard on the entire family and that they are trying their best to stay strong even as 15 family members had also tested positive for the virus. He reported that none of them have been experiencing any symptoms of the virus and they continue to take vitamins and other medications to boost their immune systems.
He iterated that Guyana has lost a true fighter and an asset as his father had served the country in various capacities with most of his work and time being spent in Region Two where he settled after moving from Region One when he was younger.
Williams said that the close knit family even in these times are trying to stick together as they mourn the death of the great husband, father, grandfather and all around loving family man who he said instilled the best values and morals in them.
