VN April 2022

Vetnuus | April 2022 36 The last story ends the stories that I have to share. It was, however, not the end of our life or love story. Emily joined the hospitality industry, getting involved in various prestigious hotels. By 1997, we opened our very own guesthouse, which we ran for five years. That is a story in itself. Our three children flourished in the beneficial, educational and social environment of Stellenbosch. Leslie is a hairdresser, and Jean, our eldest, followed Dad’s footsteps to become a veterinarian. His interest, however, is in poultry diseases and management. Paul is a graphic designer with his own studio. In the years that followed my last communication, I also furthered my interest in herd-health consultation and surgery. The doors opened for me to become involved in a church with a student ministry. Today, 40 years later, we are living in quiet retirement in Helderberg Village, where I have been able to continue my spiritual work and writing. I want to close off my stories with one last tale of an incident that happened quite recently. For the past seven years, I have needed the assistance of a carer to look after Emily, as she has become weaker and more dependent. Two years ago, when the first Covid Lockdown occurred, I had a carer who came in to wash and dress her in the morning and reverse the process in the evening. She was utterly dependent, unable to stand on her own and incontinent. As you can imagine, I relied on the carer for this assistance. Three weeks into the lockdown, the carer arrived on schedule at 9 am one Saturday morning. As she walked through the door, her phone rang, and she stepped outside to take the call. Almost immediately after this, my phone rang. “This is sister Hester speaking from P**care. I am afraid we cannot continue to provide a carer for you anymore. Thank you for your support over the last 6 years.” “But, but …” I stuttered, “How am I going to manage?” However, there would be no discussion as she put the phone down. I sat for a few moments, feeling completely stunned. Questions raced through my mind“ Who will helpme now? How am I going to manage? ” Several scenarios played out as I struggled to come to terms with the news. Then I remembered that something told me to watch the routine Sonica followed on Monday before. Was it a premonition? Was it the Lord warning me? When she came in, I put a chair down at the side of Emily’s bed, where I could see into the bathroom. “I want you to take me through your routine, step by step”, I told her. So on that Saturday morning, I took a deep breath and started following her routine. I was way out of my comfort zone even though I have done almost anything you can imagine as a vet. Two hours later, I collapsed in my chair with a welcome cup of tea, having done everything necessary and seeing her finish her breakfast. It was then that I heard a noise at my door and opening it, I found a notice nailed to the outside. “This residence is under quarantine, and nobody may enter or leave. No Village services are allowed”. I looked down to see if my skin was turning yellow to show that I had the plague or something. I thought to myself, “ They did not even check whether Story Recollections 53: Epilogue Ian du Toit