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The partner of a carer fighting for her life after contracting bacterial pneumonia while on holiday in South Africa has likened the family’s ordeal to a “nightmare” as a potential bill of more than £100,000 for her care and repatriation to Jersey looms.
Islanders have so far raised more than £10,000 to bring back Angie Scott, who is currently on a ventilator – but much more is needed and her loved ones are now appealing to the Health Minister for help.
Her partner Intensive Care nurse Suzette Jansen Van Rensburg, and friends, Clare McConomy and Rachael Martins, are currently looking to raise money to help with the repatriation.
More than 200 people have donated so far and Suzette is also looking to part-fund with loans and sales of personal possessions.
Angela's friends have also contacted the Health Minister to ask if there is any way that the Government of Jersey can help.
Suzette, a local ICU nurse, has flown to South Africa to be with her partner, and described the whole situation as an "absolute nightmare".
Pictured: Almost £10,000 has been raised in the two days since the fundraising page went live.
She explained that Angela is "still in a critical condition" and although she is responding well to treatment of the bacterial infection, she remains on a ventilator due to the "shocking" condition of her lungs.
Suzette admitted that the next step was "in the hands of God" as they could not begin the process to bring Angela back to Jersey until enough money had been raised to fund the medical repatriation.
She added that the "medical bills are piling up" in the region of £5,000 per day and explained that the staff at the South African hospital are "quite aggressive" in asking for payment, constantly dragging her away from Angela to pay another bill.
Suzette, who grew up in South Africa, said that she "cannot count" the amount of times she has been back to the country since she moved to the UK in 1996 but has "never travelled without insurance".
However, this time, Suzette mistakenly believed that an email requesting more details for the insurance was actually a confirmation email.
Pictured: Angela, Suzette and Angela's daughter, Amelia.
As a result, she sadly only realised that the couple were uninsured after Angela fell ill. Suzette said she "cannot believe" her mistake.
Although Angela was born in Scotland, her parents moved to South Africa when she was young.
Angela and Suzette went to school together there and Suzette admitted that she "fancied her back then!"
The pair remained in contact and 35 years later, began a relationship.
They have now been together for fours years and, after initially being long distance, Angela and her daughter moved to Jersey just before lockdown to join Suzette, who has been living in the island since 2011.
Suzette described the experience of seeing her partner lying in a hospital bed as "absolutely heartbreaking".
She added that Angela's daughter, Amelia, is only 16 years old and needs her mum back close.
Members of the local dog walking community - of which Angela is an active part, being the owner of five-year-old Shih-Tzu Bichon Havens cross Kiki - are also coming together to raise money.
A fundraising dog walk from Le Braye has been scheduled for 23 October.
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