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Ester Jara Pozo was 77 years old. The coronavirus hastened to death.
The pandemic took seven days of discomfort and nine days of hospitalization to shut down the biology of a woman extended to others, a visitor to single people, a founder of families, the mother of all the posits , the doctor of home remedies, a governess of peace.
He lived the end of his life in three hospitals. Three ICUs in seven days.
And in all he received "the alertness of the toilets for trying to save his life."
Because this is not a history of medical negligence, nor of family protests, so legitimate in the cases that are necessary. This is a story that shows a saturated health system but sustained by professionals who fight to avoid death even if they do not always succeed. It is the story of a family grateful for Spanish health and who lived in two weeks the death of the mother and the healing of one of the daughters admitted 400 kilometers away.
And it is a story that tells the life of someone normal, of all someone who has taken a virus that is not normal.
It is a story of three hospitals and a goodbye.
Esther's story.
Esther, like this, without ax, was married to Emilio . Together they created Esther , Nuria and Cristina . And since you cannot tell the story of Someone without his others, we have talked with everyone to find out who Esther was.
"My mother took care of us until the end. When she was on the floor and could talk on the phone, she asked us if we had eaten and if we were fine. That sums up who she was. A professional in motherhood and caring for others."
It is Nuria, the middle daughter of Esther. His account is an accurate chronology of the battle between an impatient virus and a clogged healthcare system. "On March 9, my mother was walking normally and after 10 she began to feel bad. She had some bad days and in the early hours of the morning from 16 to 17 she was taken to the hospital. My father stayed in another room while the toilets dressed In the insulating suit they were preparing to transfer my mother to the Princess' ER. It seemed like a dream, not something real. "
The 16 days
From March 17 to 19 , Ester was on the ward at La Princesa Hospital . "They called us every day. Lovely. We were able to talk to her those two and a half days. Sometimes she was very tired and other times she even called us to see how we were doing. My husband called Resistir on the phone. The hospital informed us of all the steps they were taking asked us for permission to apply a treatment that had been applied in China and Italy and they told us that it was possible that he would go to the ICU. "
At three in the afternoon on March 19 , Ester entered the ICU. "At around nine o'clock at night, a doctor explained to us that the ICU was saturated and that there were possibilities of taking my mother to Ruber's."
On the same night, March 19, Ester was transferred to Ruber Hospital . "They were very communicative with us. They informed us of their oxygen saturation level and even that on the 21st they did not have a fever. On the 22nd I entered the Zumárraga Hospital and that same day they told us in the Ruber's ICU that they were saturated and they proposed a transfer to the La Luz Clinic to make it better. I understand that it was about freeing ICU beds with patients who could withstand a transfer and leaving them for patients from that hospital who needed an urgent ICU bed. "
On the night of that March 22 , Ester entered the ICU of the La Luz Clinic directly . "On the 23rd, he was fever free, but they told us that this could change and that we had to see the evolution in 24 hours. Indeed, on the 24th they told us that it was not progressing well, that it was very bad and that in 24 hours the case could be critical. I understood that the end was near. "
Possibly Nuria never imagined that one day she would receive the call of the imminent death of her mother being admitted to another hospital for the same disease. "On March 25, around 9 in the morning, they called me from La Luz to tell me that my mother no longer had a chance and that we could go to say goodbye to her. My sisters went to La Luz and stayed with her until the end. We are very grateful to the hospital. He died at half past two in the afternoon. "
Sixteen days had passed from the first symptom to the last breath.
Esther's life
If this is the story of Esther's death, what is her life?
Ester was from Oropesa (Toledo) and since she married Emilio she made a trip of her life. He, who had been born in Mazaroleja (Segovia), worked on construction projects that led him to live in half of Spain. And in each destination, Esther. They lived in Mazagón (Huelva), Rascafría (Madrid), Toro (Zamora), Ávila, Moguer (Huelva) and Madrid. Each of her three daughters was born in a different city. And in all Esther made friends a family.
Cristina tells it better. "My mother was very loving and had a priority: her family. She was not only a madrassa, but someone also worried about her sons-in-law and her three grandchildren. And about her own family of origin because she had eight brothers. And she knew how to create networks of friendship In each city there is a group of friends that she pampered and kept until the end. "
- Who was Esther in the world?
- My mother had a great community vocation. She saw a consumerist society and wondered if we really needed that much. He belonged to religious groups of social work. She was going to see people who were alone and she was a subgovernor in a residence. Later, he worked in the kitchen of my nursery school. And it was always very self-sufficient. It was aimed at tourist guide, cooking, nursing assistant courses ... The last one was how to care for the caregiver ".
Esther wrote a text for her mother's farewell: "(...) I feel your warmth. Our home (...) We miss you but we feel close to you. Please follow us guiding with your light". Perhaps the notes that this absolute mother left pasted throughout the house continue to be worth it.
"He left us messages on the fridge, the bed, the study table ... They were thanking us for something, sometimes he scolded us, sometimes to ask for something or just to wish us good things. And he always signed He loves you, mom ."
That world of pieces of paper spread in urgent recipes of home remedies that he heard on TV or read in magazines and that proved in the health of his family. "He bought the herbs by weight and prepared them. For the stomach, chamomile; for the nerves, passionflower; for the defenses, wheat bran; for the throat, pennyroyal, honey and lemon. He even made us a face cream."
"His death will not be useless"
Cristina believes that death is not free. At least this one. The collective. "All this has a reason. Those who have left are souls at the service of change. There is a social movement and something great is happening. Their death will not be useless. It should not be. They are angels who are lending us a hand from Where they are. I'll tell you something: my mother collected stamps of saints and prayers, and her favorite saint was Saint Alonso de Orozco . It turns out that that saint's relic is attached to the La Luz Clinic, so maybe she died there to be closer to heaven. Maybe those who have died want to send us a message, and she thought so too. We don't see my mother, but she is there. "
- And its end?
- He fought in the ICUs for his life and, as it could not be, he left a bed in those ICUs to save other lives. She would have wanted it that way.
We are missing Emilio. On March 17 he saw Esther leave home in an involuntary and damned half-century break in common. Today is a man of tears, a salty voice broken on the phone.
-Ester always sacrificed herself for others. She lost things before losing family and friendship. And he always made us all be together. Thanks thanks...
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