Dying woman wants sister close
JENNIFER Cook had not seen her dying sister for three years when she boarded a plane to fly to Melbourne to care for her in her final days.
Instead of being by her cancerstricken sister’s side, Cook, who arrived from California on Monday, has spent most of her time alone in a hotel room, where she is being kept in quarantine.
Robyn Becker, 68, who is in the final stages of terminal breast and gastric cancer, fears she may die before her sister’s 14-day quarantine ends on June 1. ‘‘When I was in the hospital, I was told I had hours to weeks to live,’’ Becker said. ‘‘That was last Wednesday. It is stretching us both. I don’t know how much longer I have.’’
The sisters have made a desperate plea to the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services for an exemption so Cook, 73, can end her quarantine early and self-isolate at her sister’s home on compassionate grounds. ‘‘I want to be with her, I want to talk to her, I want to hold her hand, comfort her and hug her,’’ Cook said. ‘‘I want to do all those things.’’
Under strict Covid-19 rules, anyone travelling into Australia from overseas is required to be put in 14 days of quarantine in a government-approved hotel to curb further spread of the virus.
The health department agreed to allow Cook two hours to leave the hotel on two separate occasions for unsupervised visits with her sister this week.
In the fleeting moments they have spent together, the sisters hug, talk about family and art they have seen. Cook prepares meals for her sister before a taxi takes her back to the hotel.
‘‘Each visit, our time is cut short and it’s devastating,’’ Becker said. ‘‘It makes no sense. If they allow her to come in an unescorted taxi and be here with me with no supervision, then why can’t she just stay here?’’
Becker’s daughter, Alex, moved into her Williamstown home as her full-time carer.
‘‘This situation has taken time away from me helping mum because I have to be on the internet and on the phone trying to find people to help us,’’ Alex said.
Becker said while she understood the necessity of the quarantine measures, there needed to be flexibility for those who are dying or in extraordinary circumstances. The sisters are aware of the potential consequences of them staying together.
‘‘We are willing to accept those risks to be together,’’ Becker said. ‘‘Being in palliative care is a very strange time, because I just don’t know what will happen. I think it is imperative my sister has the opportunity to be with me as soon as possible. I just want her close.’’
Cook tested negative for Covid19 the day she left California. She had to wait until Thursday to be tested again in Melbourne with her results expected over the weekend. She will be tested for the virus a second time on the 11th day of her quarantine. If that test is negative, she must stay three more nights in the hotel before she can stay with her sister.
Geography has separated the sisters for much of their lives after Becker left the US for Australia more than 50 years ago. Fifteen years passed before they saw each other again. Since reconnecting, they have grown very close. ‘‘I am so grateful that after all those years apart I got the chance to know my sister, who I love very much,’’ Cook said. ‘‘I just treasure that. All I want now is to be with her now when she needs me the most.’’
A health department spokeswoman said the quarantine rules were in place to protect Victorians from Covid-19.
On Friday, New Zealander Christine Archer was reunited with her dying sister in Sydney after gaining an exemption from pandemic travel restrictions on compassionate grounds.
Nine
As the racing industry continues to toast a mega-million dollar financial shot in the arm, New Zealand animal welfare groups are outraged, shocked and angry over the taxpayer-funded bail-out.
So much so, the Coalition for The Protection of Racehorses has started a petition it plans to send to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in response to the recent announcement that the Government was pledging a $72.5 million emergency support package for the struggling industry.
As strange as it sounds given New Zealand is facing so many post-Covid-19 issues, the racing support package – announced by Minister for Racing Winston Peters – has arguably been the most polarising item in the budget.
Those involved in racing and those against it have staunch views on either side of the fence and the gate of harmony is some way from swinging open freely.
By 4pm yesterday, the Coalition for The Protection of Racehorses’ petition secured 2841 signatures in six days. It has a goal of 5000.
The organisation told Sunday News it is shocked and angered to hear of Peters’ slogan to ‘‘make racing great again’’.
‘‘The public are asking why their tax money is being spent on a sport that hurts