BORN SURVIVORS
After suffering from coronavirus, Katherine Oscislawski awoke from a four-week coma only to discover that her much-loved dog had been the victim of a hit-and-run car accident.
It was Easter Sunday 2020 and Tyran Oscislawski had just sunk to his knees in the middle of the road, praying for the survival of his wife and dog.
Six weeks earlier, on Mother’s Day, Katherine Oscislawski had been rushed into hospital with breathing difficulties caused by COVID-19, later slipping into a coma.
Unable to be at her bedside, Tyran and the couple’s four children could only wait in anguish at home in Sutton, Surrey
— and hope.
Aside from his close-knit family, Tyran’s main source of comfort came from their two dogs — elderly Battersea rescue Zippy, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier X Chihuahua, and two-year-old Yorkshire Terrier X Shih Tzu Benji. Sensing that Tyran felt sad and alone, the black Shorkie kept following him around the house and nuzzling him.
“Benji was a real friend to me during this time and was very attuned to my emotions,” said Tyran, who had initially been told by his wife’s doctors, at nearby St Helier Hospital in Carshalton, to prepare for the worst.
But just as he was at his lowest ebb, a call came from the hospital to say that Katherine was finally conscious.
Five minutes after the family started celebrating their good news, there was a knock at the door. In a kindly gesture, a friend had brought them Easter eggs, but while Tyran was bending down to pick up the bag from the doorstep, Benji shot out of
the house, searching for Katherine.
The little dog ran straight into the busy road and was immediately hit by a car, which didn’t stop. It was his first birthday.
“It all happened so quickly,” explained Tyran, who recalled it was a beautiful day. “I waved to our friend and picked up the bag but didn’t shut the door in time and Benji slipped round my legs.”
With a lifeless Benji lying in the road, Zippy shaking and whimpering, and their friend’s screams ringing in his ears, Tyran was in a daze.
Despite so much going on and a myriad thoughts racing through his mind, he desperately tried to keep control of the situation and stay calm for his children.
Convinced that Benji had died, he gently wrapped him in a towel and cradled him in his arms.
“Amazingly, he was still alive but in so much pain,” continued Tyran, who tasked one of his sons with googling the nearest vet open on a Bank Holiday. “I thought the car’s tyre had crushed Benji’s insides but there wasn’t any blood or a mark on him — the impact sounded worse than it was.”
Finding that Vets Now at the top of their road was open, Tyran headed there first. But having cancelled Benji’s pet insurance just a week earlier when he was furloughed, Tyran feared his family’s finances wouldn’t stretch to the estimated cost of £600 per night for treatment, so he was directed to the Blue Cross.
Unable to cope with the thought of losing their precious dog, Tyran sank to his knees in the road, and prayed. “Please God, I can’t take any more,” he implored. “First you want to take my wife, now my dog.”
After placing Benji in the car, Tyran drove straight to Blue Cross Victoria Animal Hospital in central London. There, vets examined the badly swollen Shorkie, who was barely moving and screamed in agony every time he was even lightly touched. Despite giving Benji pain relief, vet Mihaela Gherman was unable to sedate him to carry out further tests because he was in such a severe state of shock. Preliminary x-rays were encouraging though, and he was put on a drip, given strong painkillers every four hours, and monitored 24/7.
“Everyone at Blue Cross was amazing and compassionate and kept us informed every step of the way,” continued Tyran, who admitted that lots of prayer and pulling together as a family helped him cope.
“We’re so grateful to the entire team for such a great service, and for risking their own lives during the pandemic.
“I really thought I was going to lose Benji but I suddenly had a sense of peace in the middle of a storm.”
The following day, Benji was strong enough to be sedated for more detailed x-rays and an ultrasound, which miraculously revealed no obvious broken bones or damage to his internal organs.
Under the watchful eye of the Blue Cross’ dedicated vets and nurses, Benji’s swelling started to subside and his condition slowly improved. Although he was still very sore, the loving, gentle, and playful dog was allowed home after three days to continue his recovery.
NOT HIMSELF
But despite being back in familiar surroundings, Benji remained lethargic, and was sensitive to noise for at least another couple of weeks, and Tyran worried whether he would ever be himself again.
Meanwhile, in hospital, Katherine, 48, was slowly making her own recovery. She has no recollection of Mother’s Day but remembers feeling unwell.
“I recall not being able to walk the dogs 20 yards from our house to the bus stop, then I remember being in the shower and feeling freezing cold,” she said. “My next memory is being taken into hospital in a wheelchair. It was a scary time. I watched the nurses going back and forth, working so hard. I couldn’t understand why none of my family came to see me and I felt so lonely. The woman in the bed opposite had pictures of her family and a black and white cat and I lay for hours staring at them to keep my sanity. I don’t even like cats!”
For four weeks, Katherine lay in ICU on a ventilator. When she finally woke from her coma, she felt confused when a doctor, clad in PPE and a mask and visor, explained the date and how long she had been there.
“I didn’t know anything about lockdown and when I was discharged from hospital, I couldn’t understand why there were no people on the streets,” explained Katherine, who works in children’s services.
“It was wonderful to return home and see my family and dogs with their wagging tails.” But it was a bittersweet homecoming for Katherine, who was told the harrowing details of Benji’s accident and the sad news that two close family friends had lost their lives to COVID-19.
“I knew there was something wrong with Benji as soon as I got home,” continued Katherine. “But he is now back to his usual self, although he won’t go near the front door.
“What bothered me was that the driver of the car knew they had hit him before driving off, and they didn’t have the compassion to stop.
“But I am blessed to have Benji and feel so lucky that I was saved when, at the time, 25,000 people died,” she added.
“Amazingly, he was still alive but in so much pain...”